~^i8S^SSi^S^^^^«^i^^^M5S^^f*s^S(^^S^: 



S P^ROM THE SEA 




ILLUSTRATED 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



PRESENTED BY 



UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. 




^;;;:P^, /^C^i-t^C^ 



Gleanings from the Sea 



SHOWING THE 



PLEASURES, PAINS AND PENALTIES 

OF 

LIFE AFLOAT, 
WITH CONTINGENCIES ASHORE. 






BY JOSEPH W. SMITH. 



" T/ie Sea is His, and He Made It:' 



Andover, Mass. 

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 

1887. 



^\ 



^^' 



COPyRIOHT 
BY JOSEPH W. SMITH. 



Printed by Chas. C. Whitney, 
Marshall, Minn. 



o 

^3- 



TO B. P. SHILLABER, 

THE GENIUS OF WHOSE PEN, AND THE GLOW OF A KINDLY NATURE, HAVE 
GLADDENED SO MANY, AND MADE HOME DUTIES LIGHTER AND MORE 
CHEERFUL; WHILE HE, HIMSELF NOW RIPE IN YEARS— A MARTYR 
TO PAIN — HAS BEEN FORCED INTO SECLUSION FROM THE OUT- 
SIDE WORLD, YET PATIENT AND UNCOMPLAINING UNDER 
THE MINISTRATION OF SORROW AND BEREAVEMENT; 
A PUBLIC BENEFACTOR, WHOSE LIFE WORK HAS 
BEEN MADE THE MORE RADIANT AND BEAU- 
TIFUL BECAUSE OF EARTHLY ATTRITION; 
AND UNDER ALL, AND ABOVE ALL, 
WHO HAS WON FOR HIMSELF 
THAT RARE DISTINCTION, THE 
"CHEERFUL INVALID," 
THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, 
BY HIS ADMIRING FRIEND, 



JOSEPH W. SMITH. 



CONTENTS 



Preface, _.---_ 5 

Introduction, ----- 7 

Trial Trip of the Jennie B., - - - 13 

Biddeford Pool as a Watering Place, - 19 

A Storm at the Pool, - - - - 29 

The Industries of the Pool, - - - 32 

Sword-fish, ------ 37 

Sword-fish Capture on the Jennie B., - - 46 

Halibut, . . - . - 48 

The Lobster, ----- 53 

Blue-fish, ------ 56 

Cod-fish, ------ 62 

A Fishing Episode, ----- 68 

Mackerel, . - . . . ^4 

Striped Sea Bass, ----- 83 

Herring, ---.-- 86 

Whale Fishing, - - - - 96 

Yachting and Bathing, _ - - 109 

Romance of the Pool, - - - 115 

Pool Strategy, - - - - - 119 

Early Fisheries of Cape Ann, - - 121 

Fish, Fishing Stations, etc., - - - 127 

The Gloucester of To-day, - _ - 135 

Fish Weirs, - - - - - 138 

The Bright Side of Fishing, - - 144 



iv CONTENTS. 

The Dark Side of Fishing, - - - 148 

From Biddeford Pool to Boothbay, - - 152 

A Cruise ia the Jennie B., _ _ _ 162 

Tropical Fish, _ _ _ _ i6p 

One of the Days, _ _ _ _ 1^2 

A Shadow-Canoe Trip, - - - 176 

Phenomena of the Sea, - _ _ - 184 

Chemistry of the Sea, ... - ig^ 

The Tides, ..... 191 

A Rhymed Record, _ _ _ ip2 

A Home-made Pilot, _ - _ _ 204 

Fall Fishing, _ _ _ _ 206 

Old Time Fishermen, - - - - 214 

A Day at York Beach, - - - 217 

Svvampscott, - - - - - 223 

Supplying the Market, _ _ _ 231 

A Shore Town, ----- 236 

A Rhymed Letter, _ - _ - 238 

Cape Cod, - - - - - 241 

Fish and Fishing, _ _ _ , 249 

A Winter Letter, - - - - 256 

The Menhaden, or Porgy, _ _ - 259 

United States Fish Commission, - - - 263 

Fisheries of Norway, _ _ _ 268 

American Fish Bureau, - - - - 287 

Old Monhegan, _ - _ _ 294 

The Gulf Fisheries, _ _ _ _ 307 

St. John's, Newfoundland, - - ^ 311 

The Shad Running, - - - - ^ 3^7 

Salt Water Lines, - - - - 319 

The Life-Saving Service, - - - 327 

Correspondence from Stations, ... 378 

A Generous Testimonial, - - - 398 

Conclusion, ----- 398 



PREFACE. 



ONE of the principal objects in issuing the present book, "Gleanings from 
THE Sea," is to extend what has already been printed, in "Winter Talk on 
Summer Pastime," as that volume, being limited to a very small edition, onlv 
reached a few of my personal friends. Another reason is, that the book recites 
many incidents in which friends took part, and in which manv others, who 
might have done so but for business engagements, may be interested. Through 
this medium I can speak, face to face, with them all, and for them it is writ- 
ten. Should the public be so interested in the volume as to lead them to pur 
chase it, they are assured that the proceeds of its sale will go towards provid- 
ing reading matter for the Life Saving Stations upon our coast. In issuing a 
work upon so broad a subject as " Gleanings from the Sea," one must neces- 
sarily depend largely upon others for material, and in the present edition I am 
indebted to many, who have, from experience and acquired information, 
enabled me, by their contributions, to add a greater interest to the various mat- 
ters treated of in the previous edition. Not the least among the number is 
my particular friend, B. P. Shillaber (Mrs. Partington), who has freshened up 
these pages with verse and prose, and who, in a pleasant note to me, when 
enjoying my summer vacation at Biddeford Pool, July, 1S84, added these words: 
" I envy you your vacation, during which you avoid the madding crowd, and, out 
upon the breast of old ocean, can exchange politics for pollock, confusion for 
cod, and hurry for halibut; and I am sure that companionship with the trim 
biiilt 'Jennie B,' will afford you the greatest satisfaction. You are, indeed, a 
happj- man, and will enjoy the grave sea philosophy of Capt. Goldthwait far 
more than the theological discussions of Andover." In conclusion, to mv 
friends first, but to all who may read these pages, I trust that mv fishing ''lines''' 
will have " fallen in pleasant places." 

JOSEPH W. SMITH. 
Andover, Mass., 1S85. 



/ 





INTRODUCTION. 



THERE is not a school boy, who trudges along the country 
road on his way to school, with his geography under his arm, 
but can tell something of the make-up of this grand country 
of ours. He knows about its discovery by Columbus, the 
landing of the Pilgrims, the Revolutionary war, the war 
of 1812, and also of the recent Rebellion; and he will open 
his map and point out to 3'ou the beautiful rivers, lakes and fer- 
tile \'alleys. The scholar more advanced, can tell you the pro- 
ducts of every state ; knows where the railroads cross and inter- 
sect each other; is somewhat acquainted with our agricultural 
and manufacturing interests, and in fact you find him pretty 
well posted on all that relates to our country. The riper 
scholar can tell you of other countries — England, France and 
Spain; Italy with its sunny clime; Switzerland and the Alps; 
Greece, once the seat of learning; China and Confucius; Egypt 
and the Holy Land; and you find that there is no part of the 
habitable globe that he does not know something about. But 
if you ask those, who live away from the ocean, about the in- 
habitants of the mighty deep; the different kinds of tish and 
animals that find their home in the sea, and their worth; or in 
relation to the men who pursue the business, and their various 
modes of catching fish for a living; the storms they encounter; 
the wind, snow and fog they have to contend with, I think the 
majority w^ould be found to know very little about it. 



viii I NT ROD UC TION. 

Do you ever think, when you sit down to a nice piece of hal- 
ibut or codfish for breakfast, of the hardships the fishermen 
undergo to give you that dainty bit ? I propose to tell you some 
experiences of my own in this matter, and also facts that I have 
gathered from the fishermen themselves, which I hope will in- 
terest and instruct you. 

There are two phases of deep-sea fishing, one called shore, 
the other bank. It is of the former that I shall speak, from 
experience, and of the latter, state some facts obtained from 
other sources. Shore fishing (so called by the fishermen) is 
where the fishermen go from three to thirty miles from land, 
and where their trips hardly ever exceed a fortnight, and are 
oftener less. 

Saco Bay is about one hundred miles from Boston, and is 
formed by Cape Elizabeth on the north and Fletcher's Neck on 
the south. Its width is about ten miles. The bay extends into 
the land about four miles, and its shores are nearly semi-circu- 
lar. The towns of Biddeford, Saco and Scarborough, are upon 
its shores. The central portion of the bay is called " Old 
Orchard." There are several islands in the bay — the two off 
Prout's Neck called Stratton and Bluff islands. The other 
islands are nearer Fletcher's Neck; the largest. Wood Island, 
upon which there is a revolving light. This island forms a nat- 
ural breakwater for the harbor. Neofro Island is two hundred 
and fifty yards west, and connected with it at low water. Stage 
Island is eight hundred yards west of Negro Island. On the 
north-east end is a monument of gray stone, forty feet high and 
surmounted by a circular cap. At low tide this island is con- 
nected with the main land of Biddeford by a pebbl}^ bar. A 
quarter of a mile west of Stage Island is Basket Island, also 
connected with the main land by a pebbly bar at low water. 
Two-thirds of a mile from the middle of Stage Island is Ram 
Island. It is oval in shape and entirely destitute of trees. 
Three-quarters of a mile north is Eagle Island, also destitute of 
trees. This island is about one mile from Ferry Beach. Be- 
tween Wood Island and the shore we find a small island called 















• fi •. f I'- •*. ^'' 



l^i ; '.il 



INTRODUCTION. ix 

Gooseberry, and on the back of the neck another small pebbly 
spot of ground called Beach Island. A rock which is nearly 
covered at high water, and upon which the surf breaks at all 
times, is called Washburn. 

At the mouth of the Saco River, projecting from the north- 
ern shore, is a granite pier or breakwater extending in a south- 
easterly direction for eleven hundred yards. The entrance to 
the river is between Stage Island monument and the breakwa- 
ter. The sweep of Old Orchard Beach, together with the tides 
and changeable winds, cause the movable sands to obstruct nav- 
ig-ation at the mouth of the Saco River. The breakwater was 
built by an appropriation of Congress, to prevent the channel 
of the river near the bar from filling up with sand, and chang- 
ing. The cities proper, Saco and Biddeford, lie up the river 
about six miles, opposite each other. 

" Biddeford Pool " — included in the topography of ward one, 
Biddeford, and giving its name to the entire vicinity — ^is a broad 
interior basin, about one-fourth of a mile from the sea, with 
which it is connected by a narrow channel. It covers about 
four hundred acres, and is filled and emptied at every tide. 
The water rushes with great force through the channel at ebb 
and flow, and it is almost impossible for a boat to cross it ex- 
cept at slack tide or still water. It is a picturesque sheet of 
water when filled, and excellent for boating. This Pool has no 
part, beyond its name, in the incidents presented in this volume. 

Of the early history of Fletcher's Neck I have space to 
say but little. A word or two may, however, suffice. It 
was settled in 1734. There are three houses in good condi- 
tion that date back to that time : the " Hussey House," the 
house occupied by Tristam Goldthwait, Sen., and the " Haley 
House." When I first knew the place there were fourteen 
houses. Two male heads of families now only remain. Ship- 
building was formerly carried on at this place and quite a busi- 
ness was done before the war of 18 12. At this place is located 
Life-Saving Station, No. 6, of which I shall hereafter speak. 
Fletcher's Neck is accessible by land between the inner and the 



X INT ROD UC TIOX. 

outer beaches, a distance of about one mile, by a hard gravel 
road built a few years ago. By water a steamer plies up and 
down Saco River and connects with some of the trains of the 
Old Orchard Beach railway. The Little Beach railway car- 
ries an average of fifteen thousand passengers each season. 

Among the notable points of interest in the vicinity of Bidde- 
ford, is an old church, about half way between Biddeford and 
the Pool, above which hover the limbs of a large pine tree, as 
if in loving benediction. The limbs extend out over the roof, 
contrary to the rules of trees of this description, wave solemnly 
over the edifice, and sigh as if pining for past importance. It 
is now but transiently used, a preacher coming from Bidde- 
ford only occasionally to occupy its pulpit, during the summer, 
and then it is but sparsely filled by visitors. It is not, by any 
means, like "Alloway's auld haunted kirk," open to the winds 
of heaven, and made the abode of warlocks and witches, but a 
grave pile, resting in melancholy reflection by the way, as if it 
had a great secret to tell but could not give it utterance. Pass- 
ers by regard it with reverent attention and wonder how it got 
there. I was curious to learn something about it myself, and 
wrote to a clerical friend for information regarding it, and kin- 
dred matters, to which he responded : " I suppose you know 
that the church organization to which this structure belonged 
was the first in Biddeford, though the first edifice was not on 
this spot. Where the first stood I am not quite sure. In 1 66 1 
Rev. Seth Hetches was settled in Biddeford, and was the first 
Puritan minister. He continued his service till 1675. There 
was a church edifice near the old burying-ground, just above 
Eliot Jordan's house, and that was wh}- the burying-ground 
was located there, it being a custom to bury the dead under 
the shadow of the church, or as near the sanctuary as possible. 
Whether the first Puritan church stood here, or not, I am una- 
ble to determine. The Church of England service was the first 
introduced into Biddeford and Saco. Robert Jordan, who 
came to Cape Elizabeth in 1640, and from whom descended 
the vast family of Jordans in this country, was the first to in- 



I NT ROD UC TION. xi 

troduce the Episcopal service, and there was a church edifice, 
I suppose, somewhere on the Neck. In the Records in the 
clerk's otEce, Biddeford, there is a record of the action of the 
colony in regard to the seating of women in this church, cer- 
tain persons of distinction being assigned to the most import- 
ant positions. The services in this church were, for a time, 
conducted by a layman, named Robert Booth. A vote author- 
izing him to act in that capacity is recorded in the old town 
records. The originals, well preserved, are curious and diffi- 
cult to read, but Col. Edgerly, who was City Clerk some 
twenty years ago, made excellent copies of them which can be 
read with ease." But little satisfaction is derived from this, 
regarding the old " Pine Church," and I opine that little can be 
found, yet the church records may exist which would throw 
some light upon it, but simple allusion to it now is my object, 
speaking of it as an interesting relic of the devotional spirit of 
the past. 

The harbor proper of Biddeford Pool, is embraced within 
the arm of Fletcher's Neck, which affords facilities for a fish- 
ing commerce that is growing to be of much importance. 
Quite a fleet of vessels is now employed in the fisheries, and a 
fine new schooner — the Joseph Wai-ren — has just been added 
to the number, a very beautiful specimen of marine construc- 
tion, that will, doubtless, stimulate the production of others for 
the same purpose. At times the harbor presents a lively ap- 
pearance, with its show of incoming and outgoing vessels, and, 
as may be judged by the pictures contained in this volume, the 
people take a deep interest in their home commerce. The 
Pool, however, is not a great market for fish. They are, when 
caught, taken to Portland, for the most part, where there is a 
ready demand for them. Those engaged in fishing are a sturdy 
and energetic people, very industrious while the season lasts, 
and usually secure enough gain in the summer to last them 
comfortably through the winter. A happy association with 
them for years, warrants the good word I speak for them. 




\ rx 



\ 



K '"%^' 






GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



TRIAL TRIP OF THE JENNIE B. 



THE Jennie B. lay at Scituate, awaiting the voyage across 
the Ba}- and along the coast to Biddeford Pool, and, on a 
bright morning in June, Capt. W. F. Goldthwait and myself 
proceeded to join her and sail her to her destination. A boat and 
stores for her we had provided in Boston and placed on board 
the schooner Nausett, intending to intercept her in the Bay and 
transfer them to our own schooner. After the usual prelimi- 
naries of adjusting papers at the Scituate custom house, a trans- 
action which, after previous purchase, made the good schooner 
Jennie B. legally mine, we started from the wharf, under charge of 
Capt. Bates, her former owner, in search of the Nausett, bound 
out. It was nearly noon when we started, with a cheerful 
send-off from those on the wharf who had gathered to see us 
leave. The day was pleasant, although the wind was a little 
ahead. The scene was a charming one, and the Jennie B. 
showed her good sailing qualities as she cleared the harbor and 
beat out to sea, passing by Minors Ledge and up Boston Bay 
to meet the expected vessel. We met the Nausett at quarter 
past three, and, the boat and supplies put on board, Capt. Bates 
left us and returned to Scituate in the Nausett. 

Capt. Frank now took the tiller, and shaped the Jennie B.'s 
course for Cape Ann, wath a fair wind. Feeling proud of my 

2 



7^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

new purchase I watched her behavior with deep interest. She 
made a good promise of speed, was steady as a church, 
and I felt satisfied, as she was to stand in the relation of a 
home to me and my friends during the summer. The south- 
erly wind allowed us to keep a direct course, and we enjoyed 
every moment. We passed Marblehead — its pleasant summer 
houses gleaming in the warm light of the afternoon sun — the 
islands in Salem harbor, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Gloucester, 
East Point Light and Rockport South Side, then, rounding 
Thatcher's Island, we dropped anchor in Rockport harbor at 
8 o'clock p. M., and turned in for the night. 

At 4 o'clock the next morning all hands were piped upon 
deck, and, with a fine breeze, the Jennie B. swept out of Rock- 
port harbor. As she was bowling along I hailed a fisherman 
with the query: 

"Are there any sunken rocks in the harbor?" 

"Yas," was the reply, "there's one clus to 3^e, and, if you 
don't keep a sharp look out, yer '11 be onto it. Th'raint more'n 
tew foot o 'water on 't." 

This was a comforting assurance, and it seemed somewhat 
churlish in him not to have informed us of our danger without 
my asking. But Capt. Frank was equal to the emergency, 
and, almost before the fellow had done speaking, he said: 

" I know the rock he speaks of, and we are pretty near it, 
but there's more water on it than he says." 

Running his oar down : " There," said he, " We will go 
over it without danger of touching." 

We did so, the Jennie B., with her ten and six one-hundredths 
tonnage and great draught, entirely ignoring its existence. To 
another fisherman I said: 

" It seems to me that you have some lively old mosquitoes 
here. ' Twas lucky for us that we anchored late last night; 
the suckers didn't find us till morning." 

He smiled and said, quaintly: 

" Wal, I guess, stranger, they '11 stick to ye long enough to 
make up for lost time." 



TRIAL TRIP OF THE JENNIE B. 75 

This was at the time when the early fishermen were start- 
ing on their daily trips, in sailboats and dories, and quite a fleet 
of them were bound out. After getting out of the harbor we 
shaped our course for the Isles of Shoals. The towns along 
the shore we were leaving — Rockport, Essex, Ipswich, New- 
buryport — ^were all full of interest to me from early associa- 
tion. One of the most thrilling incidents of my early life had 
Newburyport for its pivotal point. The evening before one 
Fourth of July three young men (myself and two others) pro- 
cured a whaleboat at Newburyport for an excursion to the 
Shoals, and two days were spent there and along the New 
Hampshire coast. Returning, on the third day, we were beset 
by calm and fog, and reached the mouth of the river — and an 
ugly mouth it has at low tide, with the combers rushing in 
over the bar, — just at night, exhausted with rowing and in peril 
from the breakers that foamed around us. We barely es- 
caped being swamped, and managed to anchor near one of 
the immense sand spits off Salisbury Beach. The weight of 
the anchor was not deemed sufficient, and, taking some short 
pieces of railroad iron from the bottom of the boat, we placed 
them in an iron chowder pot, securing them by a piece of 
wood across the top, lashed to the pot legs below\ This was 
a capital anchor, we thought, and it answered its purpose. 
It rained fearfully, and thundered and lightened through the 
night, and as but two could sleep in the small cuddy at a time, 
the third must watch, and thus we alternately waited and 
soaked. I, for my part, have never felt any particular desire for 
the same experience again. Plum Island lights were near, but 
not visible for the fog. When we arrived next morning, 
we were informed that four men had been drowned on the 
bar a short time before we had anchored. 

The sky had become cloudy after leaving Rockport, and 
the freshening breeze denoted what the sailors call " dirty weath- 
er." It soon began to rain and I went below to keep out of 
the wet, but standing ready for a sudden call. The wind now 
blew quite a gale, and I sprang for the tiller in a jiffy. Frank 



i6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

held her up to it like a major, and there was nothing to do but 
let the boat " drive," and show what she was capable of per- 
forming as a "'sailer of the salt, salt seas." She stood the 
squall nobly and came out all safe from the sudden attack, which 
was very brief. We were obliged, as the wind was hauling 
round to the northward, to go outside the Shoals, with only a 
moderate breeze to assist us. The sun came out about 9 a. m., 
which toned down the chill that followed the north wind, and 
had rendered a great coat very desirable. 

We had passed Hampton Beach, Boar's Head, Little Boar's 
Head, and Rye Beach, all of which had peculiar interest to me, 
scenes of early visitation still gleaming amid the memories of 
youth. Fitting situation for such thoughts, becalmed two miles 
outside the Shoals, waiting, like Micawber, for something, in 
the way of a wind, to turn up. Oh for a little southerly breeze 
now, to set us towards the Pool! As we la}' in sight of the 
three islands — Star, Appledore and Smutty Nose — Frank said, 
as a slight breeze fanned up from the north : 

" Like St. Paul, when he came in sight of the three taverns, 
we will thank God and take courage." 

Frank is a philosopher, and, to make the calm less burden- 
some, he told me stories of his early sea life that were very 
entertaining. He has many wise conceits and practical sug- 
gestions, but his modesty dooms him to a position like the 
flower that is born to blush unseen. But during the calm he 
described to me a plan — original or not I cannot say — for saving 
fishermen from inconvenience who come down to the Pool for 
bait: that is, by hoisting flags on board the schooners to let 
those from Gloucester and other places know just where to go 
to procure the needed supply without going into port. The 
plan is ingenious and practicable. 

We were, at 11 130 a. m., past the Shoals with a gentle wind 
urging us on towards Boone Island, some ten miles distant. 
We laid her course with a S. E. breeze, and then took things 
easy, lying back — Frank and I — talking about the Pool and 
the happy hours of the past crowded so full with enjoyment. 



'trial trip of the JENNIE B. 17 

We were soon off York Ledge, a ver}- dangerous spot, with 
York Harbor in the back ground, fast becoming a popular wa- 
tering place, with cottages dotted along the several beaches 
beyond, formed into communities from towns as remote as Con- 
cord, Manchester, Great Falls and nearer localities, with Cape 
Neddock the terminal point. Fleets of mackerel fishers were 
around us and in sight, prospecting for their fares, and the 
Jennie B. moved 'gallantly on to her destination at the rate of 
six knots an hour, with Boone Island light on her weather beam, 
and the sea glorious beneath the sparkle of the summer sun, 
warranting the apostrophe: 

Oh Jennie B.! fair Jennie B.! 

The waves that round thee leap 
Seem full of fondest love for thee, 

Queen Beauty of the deep. 
With playful dalliance they fling 

Their snow wreaths round thy way, 
And, bowing like a sentient thing. 

Thou seem'st as glad as they. 

As an episode we spoke a fisherman off Boone Island light 
who indulged in an emphatic and characteristic grumble because 
there were so many dogfish round, that nothing else could be 
caught. These fish are the mosquitoes of the deep — always 
ready to bite. At 3:15 p. m., we were opposite Wells Beach, 
making better time with wind S. S. E. and considerable of it, 
with Cape Porpoise in prospect for the night, where we an- 
chored at 7 p. M., thirteen hours from Rockport, having had 
all sorts of wind and weather — storm and calm — to attend us. 
We voted the Jennie B. a success. The threatening clouds 
had no fear for us. 

"And calm and peaceful was our sleep, 
Rocked in the cradle of the deep." 

Early the next morning we completed our trip and arri\'ed 
at the Pool at 8 a. m. Thus terminated a delightful voy- 
age, in which the Jennie B. sustained her reputation as a sea- 
boat, her proprietor confirmed his satisfaction VN'ith her acqui- 
sition, the captain realized the delight of a true sailor in com- 



x8 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



mand of a trim-built vessel, and the crew — all two of them- 
more than satisfied with everything. 

Said Tom Tarpaulin to his clium, 

Bob Reefpoint at the rail, 
" This 'ere 's a craft, now, as is somc^ 

In which I 'd allers sail." 
" Me, too," said Bob, " a craft as fine 

As ever sailed the sea; 
For gracefulness in every line, 

Give me the Jennie B." 




BIDDEFORD POOL AS A WATERING PLACE. 



THERE is no resort on the whole Atlantic coast that Biddeford 
Pool is second to as a summer watering place. I speak from 
my own experience, and my readers will pardon me if my en- 
thusiasm runs strong in this direction. Having visited various 
sea-shore resorts from Maine to Florida, I find that there is 
something lacking in them that gives to life the pleasures and 
joys that I find at the Pool. Although the hotels do not com- 
pare with those at Cape May, Long Branch, Newport and 
Nantasket, in splendor and fine appointments, yet they are all 
kept on a good principle, and one is very sure to get what he 
pays for. Those who seek a quiet retreat, away from the tur- 
moil and bustle of the city, cannot fail to find at the Pool that 
quiet and rest they need; and those who are fond of deep-sea 
fishing, boating and bathing, are sure to find a place that has 
no superior in this direction. Nice boats and intelligent skip- 
pers, who are very accommodating, make a fishing trip a real 
pleasure. If the wish is for sailing, a splendid sail among the 
islands may be enjoyed. The pure sea air and elegant scenery 
serve to make the heart glad and happy. Those who wish 
for only as much of the sea as can be had in row-boats, will 
have no trouble to get this in perfection at the Pool. A chance 
is offered for a row down the harbor among the shipping, and 
around the islands. Those who desire still water can also find 
inland waters just suited to their tastes. Another great fea- 
ture is bathing. A fine beach, where one can enjoy the sport 



20 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

of sea-bathing, near the hotels, with the breakers rolling in, is 
a nice place to partake of a salt-water rough and tumble bath. 
Those who prefer still water will find plenty of opportunities 
for this. Fishing from the rocks always delights the children, 
and the older ones do not fail to improve the opportunity when 
offered ; while there is no place that has better advantages for 
deep-sea fishing. Are you a lover of nature? Then you will 
find much to amuse and instruct. The beautiful shore, coves 
and high bluffs, all washed by the waters of the Atlantic, are a 
school for the student of nature. 

My recollection of the Pool dates back previous to 1840. I 
well remember, though but a small bo}^ then, how my mother 
used to get her three children ready for the summer vacation, 
and the pleasure of our yearly visit to the Pool has never been 
effaced from my memory. I look forward to it at the present 
time with the same interest. At the time I first went to the 
Pool, the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth railroad was not built, 
and my father took his family from Dover, by the old stage 
route, to Biddeford. I can just remember the old-fashioned 
stage, the jolly driver, and how we children enjo3^ed the ride. 
Dr. Horace Bacon, of Biddeford, with whom Vv^e became ac- 
quainted, entertained us several times at his house. Wm. Lit- 
tlefield, of Saco, who owned a line of stages, took us to the Pool, 
and continued to do so for many years. A singular coinci- 
dence, and one worth mentioning, is the fact that, after a lapse 
of thirty-eight years, this same Wm. Littlefield carried my fam- 
ily to the Pool, from Saco, consisting of the same number of 
children as my father's family — two boys and a girl — and of 
nearly the same ages, and continued to carry us until he gave 
up his stable business. It gives me great pleasure to renew my 
acquaintance with Mr. Littlefield, from year to year, and I have 
often enjoyed a ride with him to the Pool since he gave up 
business. This I have mentioned incidentally as a bit of his- 
tory, and also as a mark of respect to an old friend who has the 
confidence of all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance. 
We wish him health and strength in his declining years. 



BIDDEFORD POOL. 21 

The first house to entertain visitors at the Pool was the 
Mansion House, kept by Christopher Hussey, Sr,, and wife. 
Mrs. Hussey acted as landlady, and her pleasant, motherly, 
Quaker style will long be remembered by those who enjoyed 
her hospitality. The families of Peter Lawson and Alexander 
Wright were the first regular summer boarders. They went 
to the Pool about 1833, and became guests of the Mansion 
House during the hot weeks of summer, and continued their 
annual visits for nearly fifty years. One little incident is worth 
mentioning" to show the difference between then and now as 
regards hotel bills. The first year that Mr. Lawson stopped 
at the Mansion House, when he got ready to leave, he asked 
the landlady for his bill. She duly presented it, and after Mr. 
L. had looked it over, he asked her if she had not made a mis- 
take, as he saw, by the figures, that he had only been charged 
one dollar and twenty-five cents a week. The landlady re- 
plied in her quaint Quaker manner, " If thee thinkest it is too 
much thee may take off some." In 1837 Christopher Hussey, 
Jr., succeeded his mother, and became at once a popular land- 
lord. It was at this house my father stopped on his first visit 
to the Pool, and for many years the family found at Mr. Hus- 
se3-'s a restful summer home. My memory takes me back to 
the year 1838, and I can remember the joUy time we had with 
"Uncle Chris'," as he was called. Who, of all that company 
now living, that used to gather from year to year under his 
roof, does not remember the pleasant and social times enjoyed 
under the old " Balm-o'-Gilead tree," or strolling on the shores, 
gathering shells and mosses, or taking an evening row to Wood 
Island in the little boat "Jabe?" On pleasant days in summer 
a great many transient visitors came from Saco and Biddeford 
to spend the day and get a nice fish dinner, gotten up in Mrs. 
Hussey's best style. And those happy hours of my childhood 
will never be blotted from memory as long as reason holds her 
sway. Mr. Hussey continued the business with much success 
until his death, in 1876. Since that time his widow* and daugh- 

*Recently deceased. 

3 



22 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

ters have carried on the business, and the kind treatment their 
p'uests receive at their hands alwavs insures them a full house. 

Mr, Daniel Holman was the next to entertain visitors. He 
began in a small way in a one-story cottage. Business increas- 
ing from year to year, he made addition after addition, until he 
could accommodate one hundred and twenty-live persons. The 
old Highland House was well known for its pleasant location, 
comfortable quarters and genial landlord. This place was pat- 
ronized annually by families from many states of the Union, 
who always found, at Mr. and Mrs. Holman's, kind and hos- 
pitable treatment. Among the visitors who yearly found a 
cordial welcome were Senator Cragin, Hon. John P. Hale, Oliver 
Wendell Holmes, Hon. Anson Burlingame, Hon. N. P. Banks, 
Dr. Nathan Lord and Dr. Truman M. Post. Mr, Holman was 
a very energetic and persevering man. At the age of eighty 
he took the contract to carry the daily mail for four years from 
Biddeford to Biddeford Pool, a distance of eight miles. He 
continued in the hotel business until his death, in July, 1878; 
his wife survived him but a few da3's. Mr. Holman was suc- 
ceeded by his grandson, Walter S. Starkweather, who opened 
,the house in 1879, ^'^^ '^^^ with great success in catering to 
the wants of his guests. In the fall of 1879 ^^'* Starkweather 
had the old Highland House removed from the spot on which 
it had stood for so many years, and in its place he erected one 
of the best hotels there was on the eastern coast. The new 
Highland House, as it was called, was truly a model house. 
Its appointments were all first-class, and it was litted with all 
the modern improvements. Three hundred people could be 
accommodated at this hotel. Mr. Starkweather continued in 
the business two years, and was well patronized. In April, 1882, 
the house caught fire and was burned to the ground, with all 
its contents. The lot on which it stood is one of the best at" 
the Pool, and we hope to see another hotel built on the same 
spot. 

In 1844 Mr. Moses Hill leased the Cutts House for five 3'ears, 
and kept it as a summer boarding house. This house was pat- 



BIDDEFORD POOL. 23 

ronized by people from Lowell for a number of years. Mr. 
Hill was a popular landlord, and during the summer months 
his house was well filled with guests. In 1849 Mr. Isaac Bick- 
ford bought the Cutts property at the Pool, made additions to 
the house, and kept it as a hotel under the name of the Pool 
House. Mr. Bickford was very successful, and many are now 
living who look back with pleasure to the happy days they 
passed while under the care of the genial and courteous host of 
the Pool House, who is still living at the advanced age of eighty- 
nine.* Mr. Bickford gave up the business in 1862, sold the house 
to James Br^'ant, who carried on the hotel for a number of 
years, and then sold to the present proprietor, Mr. Frederick 
Yates, who changed its name from Pool to Yates House. Mr. 
Yates was a young man when he commenced hotel business, 
but his energy and perseverance won for him that success which 
comes to others through luck. His first step was to remodel 
the house, by making greater additions for the accommodation 
of summer travel, and to improve the surroundings in such a 
manner as should well please those who sought his house for a 
retreat during the hot weather. Mr. Yates has been very pros- 
perous, and at the present time he not onl}- runs his house at 
the Pool, but is also landlord of the Biddeford House, situated 
in the city proper. In the season of 1881, Mr. Yates, in con- 
nection with his other business, took the Sea- View Hotel at the 
Pool, but other matters were so pressing that he retired from 
it at the end of the season. -j- 

In 1847 Mr. John C. Hussey rebuilt his house and opened it 
to accommodate the sea-shore travel. The Ocean House was 
well patronized from year to year, those who came under 
its roof found a hearty welcome, and nothing was left undone 
that could promote the welfare of its guests. Mr. Hussey car- 
ried on the business for a great many years, and then retired 
in favor of his son Charles. After it came under the manage- 
ment of the latter it was a popular resort for the Canadian 

* Since the above was written Mr. Bickford lias passed away, at the ripe age of 81) 

years, months, 
t Yates House destroyed by fire June 188J. 



24 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

people; and for many years they made the Ocean House their 
summer home. Mr. Hussey was well spoken of by his guests 
for his kind and obliging manners and attention to their 
wants, and gained many friends by his gentlemanly deport- 
ment and disposition to please. He continued the business 
until 1879, when he sold the house to Mr. Fred T. Brown, of 
New York, who made large purchases of property at the Pool. 
Mr. Brown remodeled the house and changed its name to Sea- 
View. He also removed the outbuildings, laid out w^alks and 
drive- ways, and there is no hotel at the Pool that surpasses it 
in fine appointments. In 1881 Mr. Brown opened it to the 
public with Mr. Fred Yates as manager. In 1882 Mr. S. New- 
man was chosen manager, and his popularity as a landlord 
soon became known. Latterly it has been under the manage- 
ment of Mr. J. A. Bailey, who has had much experience in 
hotel business, and, judging from the past, great success is 
predicted for the Sea- View. 

In 1862 Capt. G. L. Evans commenced to entertain visitors 
at his place, which was known as the Ellsworth House. This 
house was well patronized, for its fine location nxide it at once 
a favorite resort. Capt. Evans' success was due to his kind 
and courteous manners, and he will ever be remembered by 
those who have gathered beneath his roof as an attentive and 
obliging landlord. Capt. Evans continued the business until 
1876, when failing health obliged him to retire. 

In this short sketch I have endeavored to give a brief outline 
of the summer hotels at the Pool, but for the want of time and 
space I am unable to enter more fully into the details as they 
have occurred from time to time since I became a visitor at that 
place. There is one fact which perhaps is worth mentioning, 
and that is, that not one of those who first started hotel business 
at the Pool is now living. They have crossed the shore of 
time, whose sands show the imprints of no returning footsteps. 
But they will ever live in the hearts of all those who remember 
the pleasant days they have enjoyed while at Biddeford Pool. 

The History of the Pool is replete with reminiscences and 



BIDDEFORD POOL. 25 

incidents. I shall not attempt to go deeply into its history, but 
will just call to mind a few facts in reference to the earl}- set- 
tlement of the place and the origin of its name, and I trust this 
imperfect sketch may remind some one besides m3'Self of the 
pleasant days passed there. It appears from history, that 
Richard Vines, the founder of the towns of Saco and Bidde- 
ford, had a patent right, under the English government, of the 
land now known as Biddeford Pool. This land, by title, was 
conveyed to one Jordan, who sold it, in 1658, to Brian Pendle- 
ton and Capt. Roger Spencer. In 1660 Spencer sold his part 
to Pendleton, who took up his abode there, and the place was 
known for many years as Pendleton's Neck. Rev. Seth 
Fletcher, well known among the early settlers of Maine, mar- 
ried Pendleton's only daughter, Mary, who had one child which 
they named Pendleton Fletcher. This child was adopted by 
his grandfather, who gave to him the land known as Pendle- 
ton's Neck, together with Wood Island and other property in 
the vicinity. Pendleton Fletcher took possession of the estate, 
bequeathed to him by his grandfather, about 1680, and the 
place has been known since that time as Fletcher's Neck. This 
name it still retains and its geographical position is known by 
it. The name by which it is more familiarly known, at the 
present time, was adopted by the visitors. 

In 1737 Batchelor Hussey, of Nantucket, bought one-half of 
Fletcher's Neck, together with Wood Island, of the Fletcher 
heirs. The next year Mr. Hussey built the house now known 
as the Mansion House, which was, as I have before staled, the 
first house to entertain visitors at the Pool. Capt. Thomas 
Cutts, of Saco, bought the other half of the property and moved 
there, not far from 1800. Capt. Cutts was a successful ship- 
master, and at one time was sole owner and master of his ship. 
He made many prosperous voyages, being absent from home 
many years at a time. Soon after he retired from sea, he built 
a wharf and stores, and at once commenced ship-building on 
quite an extensive scale. When the war of 181 2-' 14 broke out 
he had quite a large number of ships which were engaged in 



2b GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

the West India trade. During the war, the English frigate 
Bulwark came in, anchored off Wood Island, and sent two 
boats on shore, commanded by the first lieutenant. As soon 
as they landed they commenced to destroy the property of 
Capt. Cutts. Three ships (the Harmoine, Catherine and Equa- 
tor) were demolished, and one that was in the course of con- 
struction was burnt on the stocks. Some of the remains of the 
three vessels destroyed are still to be seen. Another ship was 
taken out to sea and held until redeemed by Capt. Cutts, he 
paying $6,000. Not being satisfied with the depredations 
that had already been committed, the keys of the stores were 
demanded, and the sailors were allowed to help themselves to 
anything they wished in the shape of clothing, hats, caps, whis- 
key, rum, etc. Besides destroying two other small vessels that 
did not belong to Capt. Cutts, and which they did against or- 
ders, no other damage was done to the place. And it ap- 
peared, from what was afterward learned, that this work of de- 
struction was the result of spite. 

It seems that, previous to the war, the lieutenant of the Bul- 
wark was in command of a brig, bound from the Provinces to 
Boston, with a load of grindstones. This vessel sprung aleak 
and he put into the Pool for a harbor, asking permission to 
unload the cargo on the wharf in order to find the leak. This 
was refused, and he was obliged to go to sea in a leaky vessel 
and make the best way he could to his point of destination. 

After the death of Capt. Cutts, his son Thomas succeeded 
him in business, and he is spoken of, by the people of the Pool, 
as a man of sterling integrity and one whose heart was always 
open to the wants of those in need. He sold his property at 
the Pool and afterwards went West, where he accumulated 
quite a fortune, and won the respect and confidence of all who 
knew him. He died while in the prime of life, but his memory 
will ever live in the hearts of those who knew of his kind and 
benevolent acts. I can just remember him and the pleasant 
sails I have had up and down Saco river in his little white 
whale-boat. 



BIDDEFORD POOL. zj 

The stores and wharves built by Capt. Cutts are still stand- 
ing, and, although the wharves are in a rather dilapidated con- 
dition, the stores look good for a number of years. The old 
store, as it is called, is one of the land-marks of the Pool. I 
can look back to the time when, a boy, I used to chmb the 
winding stairs and go up into the cupola, where, with other 
boys of my age, I would sit for hours at a time, cracking nuts 
and loooking out upon the ocean, watching the vessels as they 
sailed up and down by the Pool. The view from the cupola 
was grand : Saco Ba}- with its islands, the harbor and shipping 
on the one hand, and the broad Atlantic on the other. I hardly 
pass the old store without being reminded of the changes that 
have taken place since the crew of the Bulwark set themselves 
up in business there. 

When I lirst went to the Pool there were but thirteen fami- 
lies living there, with a population of about seventy-five. Onh' 
two of the heads of those families still survive. It gives me 
great pleasure to recall my early associations with those 
who have passed away, for I knew them for their christian 
virtues and social qualities, and I wash I could speak of them 
one by one, for the good impressions I had of them in my 
younger da3's have never been changed. It affords me much 
enjoyment to meet, from time to time, those two who are still 
living, and renew past friendship, for I alwa3^s get something 
good when in their company. Ma}^ peace and prosperity ever 
be their lot, and " their last days be their best days." 

At the present time there are fifty-three families living there, 
with a population of about two hundred. Quite a number of 
the former inhabitants have moved away — some of whom have 
settled in the Western states, and others have found occupations 
nearer the old homestead. 




A STORM AT THE POOL. 



The different points of interest about Biddeford Pool are so 
graphically stated by Capt. W. F. Goldthwait, in a rhymed 
description of a storm at the Pool, that I cannot refrain from 
printing it here, as a local specimen of the intellectual merit of 
the locality. The changes it has undergone in preparing it for 
the press but make more apparent its original strength. 



The clouds were gathering in the east, 

And to the westward swiftly flew, 
And o'er the southern sky they cast 

Their deep and darkening hue. 
The sea-bird, in her ocean nest, 

Seemed noting the wild tempest's sway, 
And, as she pecked her mottled breast, 

Poured forth a timely lay: 

" Though skies be dark, no fear have we 

Who live beside the heaving sea. 

We 've watched the rise of many a storm. 

Have seen its power in evei'y form. 

And Nature's phases aye unfold. 

In the wave that flashed and the cloud that rolled; 

The quack of the wild duck darting by, 

The loon's hoo-hoo, the sea-gull's cry ; 

The distant lands, uplooming clear. 

In the evening's dewy atmosphere. 

And ships, that seem to sail in air, 

Uplifted by the mirage there ; 

4 



jff GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The murky clouds that hurry past, 
The mists that gather thick and fast, 
Tlie shifting \vinds, the eastern " glin," 
The waves, like mountains, rolling in: 
All these, and signs in every form, 
We've marked before the coming storn-i." 

Hark to the Storm King's boisterous roar!! 
List to the waves that lash the shore. 
Bringing from the far off sea 
Sounds of its awful minstrelsy ! 
And, all along our rock-bound coast. 
The storm-fiends rage from post to post„ 
And mermaids sing their wild refrain 
Which the winds whistle back again. 

From Poqroise Cape to Wood Isle light 
The seas display their caps of white ; 
Far o'er the Bay to Lizzie Cape 
The maddened surges roar and leap, 
And all around our shores, the while. 
The breakers into mountains pile ; 
No quiet at the Pool is found 
Until the sea has reached its bound. 

Upon the highest hill we stand 
And see the waves assail the land, 
Hurling their waters to our feet 
And damping us with vagrant sleet. 
We look away to Fortune's Rocks 
That whiten with the billowy shocks. 
And o'er the beach at old Sovith Point, 
Where ocean seems all "out of joint." 

Beach Island calls our gaze away. 
Half hidden in the foaming spray. 
And " Washerwoman " foams and boils, 
And wrings and twists in sudsy toils. 
To East Point is attached her line. 
On which her fleecy blankets shine ; 
While there, where Dancing Berry lies. 
The furious waves assail the skies. 
And Gooseberry Isle and Isle of Wood 
Seem deluged by another flood. 

Unlike that August day when we, 
For cod and haddock outward bound. 

Impelled the graceful Jennie B. 
Off to famed Tanto fishing ground, 



ui 3TORM AT THE POOL. ji 

And, finding none, 't was made pretence 

That quest of quiet brought us there; 
*' Ah yes," said Post, "and in that sense 

We've found it, with a lot to spare." 

Now darkness settles and we iurn 

To where the cheerful home fires burn, 

And think of those upon the deep 

For whom wives, mothers, sisters weep. 

Wood Island light beams like a star, 

To warn the sailors from afar, 

While the deep-sounding bell we hear, 

Proclaiming death and danger near. 

And then our earnest prayers arise 
To God of ocean, earth, and skies, 
That he, by his Almighty arm, 
May save the sailor from all harm; 
But even in fear, oh Holy One, 
We humbly say, "Thy will be done." 




THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 



THE principal business of the Pool is fishing and lobster-catch- 
ing. About two thousand lobster traps are used. Five or six 
small fishing crafts are owned here and are engaged in shore 
fishing, some of which do a " pleasuring " business in the sum- 
mer. The fish taken off the coast are sword fish, halibut, blue 
fish, cod, haddock, mackerel, cusk, hake and dog-fish. Dur- 
ing the months of August and September, 1881, the fishermen 
captured five hundred sword fish, weighing upon an average 
four hundred pounds each, for which they received from two 
to six cents per pound, according to the demand. 

Let me illustrate fishing generally before giving an ac- 
count of the particular kinds, in the capture of which I have 
had some experience; and I can perhaps do it better by giving 
a dialogue between myself and a "regular fisherman," trusting 
the reader will glean from this some information, which would 
take much longer if told in any other way: 

AN OLD FISHERMAN INTERVIEWED. 

" Good morning. Captain," said I, (as I seated myself on a 
log beside an old skipper who had been out all night tending 
his trawls), "what luck did, you have?" 

" Morning, sir," said he, as he shifted his quid of tobacco to 
the other side and hitched up his oil pants, "not much luck to- 
night." 

"What was the matter; couldn't you get bait?" 

" Well, bait is very skerce, but I managed to git a few small 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 33 

* 

mackerel, but the plaguy dog-fish are so plenty that they won't 
let a decent fish get onto the trawls." 

"The dog-fish, then, I take it, are not very profitable?" 

" Well, no, they ain't exactly, about this time ; but I have seen 
the time when I could make something catching 'em." 

" Then there has been a time when dog-fish were worth 
catching?" 

"Yes, during the war, when oil, like gold, was way up, a 
man could make good wages at this kind of fishing; but sence 
then nobody wants to have anything to do with 'em." 

" How do you manage to get the oil? " 

" Well, you see we take out the liver and throw the fish away; 
we put the liver into barrels and it makes out itself; then we 
dip the oil off for the market." 

"How many does it take for a barrel of oil? " 

"Well, it takes about thirty to make a gallon, I reckon; so 
you see the fish are worth less than a cent apiece, which don't 
pay much, if you reckon your gear anything." 

"What time of the year do you commence cod-fishing?" 

" Well, as a general thing, about the first of May, or as soon 
as fresh herring come." 

" Where do the herring come from ? " 

" They come in schools from the south, the same as other 
fish, and we catch 'em in nets and use 'em for bait." 

"Do you always get a plenty?" 

" No, not allers, we are bothered to death, almost, sometimes, 
for bait; then agin we get 'nuff bait and there ain't no fish." 

" Then I take it the fishermen have hard luck sometimes ? " 

" Yes, the old saying's true, ' Fishermen's luck, wet foot and 
hungry inards.' " 

" I suppose you find it pretty rough on the banks sometimes? " 

" Well, we do. We go out very often, get plentv of bait, set 
our trawls, and, before we get a chance to haul 'em, it'll come 
on to blow and get so rough that we have to get under way 
and make a harbor, and leave our trawls until we get a chance 
to go after 'em. Sometimes we find 'em and sometimes we 



34 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

* 

don't, and when we don't we get new ones and try it agin. 
Sometimes when there's plenty of fish it will be so blowy and 
rough we can't get out for a week, and then agin we get out 
and there ain't no bait; so you see it's kinder hard work." 

" But you do have some good fishing? " 

" Yes, we hit on 'em once in a while. We get out, find plenty 
of bait and fish, have good weather, and then we jest hoe in, and 
when we are doing well we forget all about the bad luck." 

"I think it must be exciting when the fish are biting good?" 

" Well, you bet it's jest fun ; and then I would like to have 
you along when we get right into business. You'd find it dif- 
ferent work from catching trout with a pin-hook." 

"Do you find many haHbut?" 

"No, we don't; halibut is rather skerce on our coast." 

" Where are halibut mostly caught ? " 

"On George's and Grand Banks; very few catched on the 
inshore grounds." 

"Do you fish for mackerel?" 

" Not much ; we used to years ago, but they got to using 
seines and it broke 'em up, and it don't pay to try for 'em now. 
Catching mackerel, like everything else, has had its day, that 
is, catching 'em with a hook. I've seen the time when mack- 
erel fishing has paid, but that was before the seines got about." 

" How many mackerel did you ever know one vessel's crew 
to catch in a day with a hook?" 

"About seventy-five barrels." 

"That would be lively work, I should think?" 

" Well, you bet it is. When a vessel's crew gets seventy- 
five barrels of mackerel in a day, and get 'em taken care of 
ready for fishing next day, they have got to keep their hands 
out of their trouses." 

" Did you experience the same difficulties mackerel-fishing 
that you did cod-fishing?" 

"Jest about the same; sometimes we would cruise a week 
without catching a fish, and then agin we would find a plenty 
of fish and they wouldn't bite at all." 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL, j/ 

"Pretty exciting work when they do bite well, isn't it?" 

" Well, 'tis. When they take right hold in earnest, you can 
haul and slat 'em off as fast as you are a mind to. I think it 
is the best fishing that we have." 

"Then the most mackerel are taken now with seines.^" 

" Yes they be." 

" How many did you ever know to be taken at one time 
with the seine? " 

"About three hundred barrels." 

" How do the fishermen who don't use the seine, like this? " 

"Well, they don't like it very well; it breaks up the mackrel 
that used to come in shore years ago, and the small boats did 
first-rate catching 'em, but now it is very seldom that they 
come into the bay, and when they do, they are so shy they 
won't bite." 

"I understand they use steamers for seining?" 

" Yes, they do, but not for mackrel; the steamers are used for 
pogy-fishing." 

"What use do they make of the porgy fish?" 

" They make oil out of them. They have factories where 
they extract the oil and the refuge they use for fertilizing." 

" How does this branch of business pay ? " 

" It don't pa}^ very well on the coast of Maine. It used to, 
but them days are gone and the fishermen ain't sorry." 

" Did it injure the fishing business ? " 

" Well, we think it did, a great deal." 

" In vyhat way ? " 

" Well, they came right into the bay and drove all the pogys 
off so the fishermen couldn't git any for bait, and finally they 
broke up pogy fishing on the coast of Maine altogether." 

" Do they follow the porg}^ business elsewhere ? " 

" Yes, on New Jersey coast, on Long Island sound and 
around Block Island." 

" Do you follow cod-fishing in the winter months ? " 

" Well, we don't do much of it now ; we used to have some 
fine vessels here, and we done well 3^ears ago winter fishing, but 



36 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

fish got skerce and we had to go so far for 'em, we had to give 
it up." 

" How far did you have to go? " 

" From ten to thirty miles the last of fishing, but twenty 
years ago we had good fishing right out here in our channel. 
Then we could do good business in our small boats." 

" How do you account for the scarcity of fish ? " 

" Well, I think they have been catched up, so many fishing 
for 'em; and setting so many trawls has stopped 'em coming 
inshore." 

" How many trawls did you use to a vessel ? " 

"Well, we generally had about thirty-five hundred hooks to 
a man, and a vessel that carried a crew of ten men had about 
eight miles of fishing gear." 

"Pretty good string, that; and did you manage to get them 
all right ? " 

"Well, no; sometimes we would have to leave 'em. It 
would come on to blow after we got 'em set, and we would 
have to go in without 'em ; and when we went out agin, if we 
found 'em all right we was lucky; if not, we got some more." 

" Did you ever get caught out in a storm and have to 
weather it ? " 

" Well, no, I never did, but have come pretty nigh it. Some 
of our boats have. We was out one day, four vessels of us, 
and jest before we got our trawls in it come on a regular 
old-fashioned snow storm; the wind was all around the com- 
pass and we started for a harbor as quick as we could, and as 
good luck would have it, two of our vessels got into the harbor 
jest after dark all right, but the other two didn't fare so well. 
One of 'em run ashore and done considerable damage, the other 
made the land, and in gibing over broke the main boom and 
had to anchor. It blowed so hard they parted both cables and 
had to put to sea. When the storm abated the}^ got into 
Gloucester putty well shook up. They lost their trawls and 
boats, but by skillful management saved themselves and vessel." 

" I don't think I should fancy that kind of fishing." 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. J7 

" Well, I guess you wouldn't. It is all well enough for them 
who have good homes and plenty of everything, to set down by 
a good fire on a cold winter's night and enjoy themselves, but 
I guess they don't think much about the poor fishermen who 
are out buffeting the terrible storms, trvingr to make an honest 
living for themselves and famihes." 

" I hope they get well paid for the hardships they undergo ? " 

" Well, they don't, allers, as the fish-buyers take advantage 
of 'em, and the men who risk their lives git the least pay." 

" Yes, but we have to pay a good round price at the market 
for fish." 

" That's jest it, they beat the fishermen down and they have 
to take what they can git, and the marketman fixes his price to 
suit himself; so you see how it is. The fisherman in order to 
make a living, and a poor one at that, has to sell for what he 
can git, while the marketman makes his own price, and a 
pretty good one it is, ginerally." 

SWORD-FISH. 

Taking sword fish, is one of the industries of the Pool. 
" In form this fish resembles the mackerel. The scales are 
very smaD; the jaws proper, and sometimes the sword, are 
crowded with small, acute teeth, often hardly perceptible. 
Swordfish are swift swimmers, and feed on mackerel and other 
small fish. The common species attain a length of twelve to 
twenty feet, and are found in the Mediterranean and on both 
sides of the Atlantic. Thev make their appearance at Block 
Island, Long Island Sound, early in the summer, and are found, 
during the summer and early fall, all along the coast from New 
York to Cape Sable, having here and there favorite feeding 
grounds. Their flesh, both fresh and salted, is highly es- 
teemed, as food, and in Boston, Portland, and other seaports, 
forms a considerable article of commerce. They seldom at- 
tack other large fish, except when in compan}^ with the 
thresher or fox shark. They have been known to pounce 
upon a whale, and after a terrible contest, come off victorious." 



S8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The modus operandi of capture is as follows : 
All vessels that are fitted for sword-lishing, have, at the 
extreme end of the bowsprit, what is called a pulpit. This is 
an iron rod, one and a half inches thick and three feet long, 
with an iron semi-circular band firmly secured at the top. It is 
well fastened to the bowsprit in an upright position. The har- 
pooner stands on the end of the bowsprit, within the iron 
pulpit, ready not to preach, but to practice. A pole, 
ten feet long and two inches in diameter, with an iron socket 
attached, is used to drive the dart into the fish. The dart is 
made of iron or composition, six inches long, and shaped like 
an arrow-head. The warp or line used is four hundred and 
eighty feet long, about the size of a common clothes line. One 
end of the line is secured to the dart, the other end is fastened 
to a barrel, and all but forty feet is wound around the same in 
such a manner that in case it is used it easily runs off. The 
pole and dart are always kept at the pulpit when cruising for 
sword-fish. It is the habit of these tish, in the warm da3^s of 
summer, to come to the surface of the water for food, when 
they can readily be detected by the dorsal fin which protrudes 
above the water. When discovered by " the lookout " at the 
masthead, the course of the vessel is laid right for the monster, 
and, with a little breeze to fill the sails, she soon gets near 
enough for the man in the pulpit to strike. As soon as the 
dart is thrown into the fish and he recovers from his surprise 
(for just a few seconds), he starts for the bottom of the sea like 
a shot out of a gun, and the barrel which is always in readiness is 
thrown overboard. This being done, another dart and line are 
procured and everything is ready for another strike. If 
another fish is not seen very soon, one of the crew takes the 
dory, rows to the barrel attached to the fish, and proceeds to 
haul him in. This work in most cases is soon accomplished. 
The fish is hauled up alongside the dory and a lance is put 
through his gills, to which he soon succumbs. He is then 
hoisted on board the vessel and the crew are all ready for 
another capture. 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. jg 

Having thus given the method of capturing the fish, let 
us imagine ourselves on board the yacht "Jennie B." setting 
sail for the sword-fish ground. I had invited a number of my 
friends to join me on this trip. Three of them — a gentleman 
from New York, one from Boston, and the other from Law- 
rence, Mass., — kindly accepted my invitation. The morning 
was beautiful, and at 5, a. m., we slipped our mooring and 
filled away with every prospect of a good day. While we were 
gliding along to our destined point, some fifteen miles 
south-east from the Pool, the time was taken up with pleasant 
reminiscences of the sea, and some pretty good fish stories 
were told. All on board were cheerful and hoping for a suc- 
cessful voyage. At 10:30, a. m., we were out fifteen miles 
from land, and had reached the place where we expected to 
have some sport. And here let me give this day's experience 
just as I witnessed it on board of my own craft. The captain 
had taken his stand in the pulpit, ready for action, while a man 
was stationed at the foremast-head to discover the fish. A 
large number of vessels were seen engaged in the same busi- 
ness as ourselves. The " lookout " had seen a splash quite a 
distance from us, and all hands were scanning the surface of 
the deep, with 

Eves out to windward, 
Eyes out to leeward, 
Eyes out ahead of us, 
Sword-fish to mark : 

Sword-fish to right of us. 
Sword-fish to left of us, 
Sword-fish in front of us. 
Out on a lark. 

I was consulting my watch noting the time, (11, a. m.), 
when the " lookout " sighted the long-expected object 
off our lee bow about two hundred yards distant. But the 
wind, which had been very light all the morning, had entirely 
left us now, and we were becalmed. Captain Jim, nothing 
daunted, called the lookout at the mast-head, and, after putting 
the needed gear into the small boat, they proceeded to execute 



40 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

the design of capturing this fish. All eyes were bent upon 
the men. They rowed very cautiously until they got as near 
as they thought proper, when Captain Jim was seen to rise in 
the boat, and, with a well-directed throw, the dart was driven 
deep into the monster. So well was the work done, that in 
thirty minutes from the time the blow was struck, our first 
sword-fish lay on the deck of the Jennie B., we having used 
the main halyards to hoist him on board. We soon saw 
another, but, before we could get ready to attack, he disap- 
peared. The breeze had now sprung up and it looked a little 
more favorable for our business. Will Hussey was now in the 
pulpit, and, with his quick eye, discovered another sworder a 
short distance on our weather bow. Captain Jim was at the 
helm, and, by skillful manoeuvering, managed to get our ves- 
sel in good position, when, before the fish was aware of any dan- 
ger, the dart was driven clear through his body. This opera- 
tion was immediately followed by throwing the barrel over- 
board to which the line was attached; and, with this arrange- 
ment, we could leave Mr. Fish to his own meditation, while we 
sought other conquests. We cruised around for some time 
without discovering another, and concluded to take the one on 
board that was fast to the barrel. Just as we were ready 
to carry out this design. Captain Jim, who was now in the pul- 
pit, sang out "Luff, luff, quick! there's one right there!" and, 
sure enough, not fifty 3^ards distant, the betra3dng fin could be 
seen. With the same skill displayed that had marked our suc- 
cess thus far, we were soon in position for Captain Jim to give 
the fish what he called a " settler," and so it proved, for with 
strong arm and iron nerve he settled the dart nearly through 

his body. 

As it was getting toward 2, p. m., we thought best not to 
throw the barrel overboard, but hold it in readiness to do so if 
need be, accordingly we held on to the fish, on board our vessel, 
hauling in on the line as he came near the surface and paying 
out as he went down. And here I had an opportunity to watch 

one of these sea monsters in his dying struggles, and I will ven- 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 41 

ture to say that if thev knew their strength, and how to use it, no 
vessel would dare to approach them. While we were at work 
with this one, from the deck of our vessel, one of the men was 
sent with the small boat to take care of the fish attached to the 
barrel, so as to have the care of both prizes going on at once, 
but found it no boy's play to handle the one from the deck. 
We would haul him up some twenty fathoms, then down he 
would go again like lightning. This was done a number of 
times, and we found we had a lively player on the end of the 
line. But Captain Jim got tired of this fun. " Now," said he, 
"let us all take hold and rouse the fellow up." All hands 
agreed to this, and soon we had our prize up along side the 
yacht, when with the aid of the lance, we were once more con- 
querors. We had just got our fish on deck, when the small 
boat came along side with the other trophy, and in a short 
time three fine sword-tish, weighing about live hundred pounds 
each, lay side by side on deck. It was just sixty minutes 
from the time we struck our last fish that we had him safely 
on board. It being now 3, p. m., I told the captain that we 
had better shape our course for the harbor, for I was anxious 
that my friends who were with me, and had enjoyed so well 
the sport of the day, should reach their homes before night. 

We were ver}' tired, for there had been no time since 10, 
A. M., that we had not been actively engaged in doing something 
towards the accomplishment of our object. While we 
were sailing along with a fair breeze towards our port of 
destination, our time was taken up in pleasant conversation, 
and the haps and mishaps of the sword-lishermen were freelv 
discussed. Noticing that Captain Jim was getting a little 
uneasy, and guessing the cause of his anxiety, I ventured to 
ask him if he thought we should be able to get into the 
harbor before dark. He shook his head and replied, " No 
sir, I don't." We soon found out that he was correct in 
his prediction, for at 6, p. m., the wind had entirelv left us, our 
gallant little craft lay becalmed on the bosom of the mighty 
deep, seven miles from land, and when the sun disappeared 



42 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

behind the Western hills it went down upon as fine a sword- 
fish day as ever was seen outside of Biddeford Pool. At 9, 
p. M., a light wind sprang up, and, trimming our sails to catch 
the breeze, we were once more bound on our homeward track, 
reaching our homes at 11, p. m., all highly delighted with this 
day's sport. It is pleasant to note the fact that all the other 
Pool boats were successful, each capturing from one to four 
sword-fish. 

During August and September, each year, many fishermen 
and mackerel seiners go prepared with sword-fish gear, that 
they may employ their time and make a dollar during the scar- 
city of mackerel and other fish. 

There are many sword-fish incidents worth relating. 

One of the Pool fishermen related to me the fact that his 
vessel at one time had out eight barrels, and the extreme ones 
were eight miles apart when they commenced to take them up. 
All were secured. One fish, after being struck, went straight 
to the bottom, sixty fathoms, or three hundred and sixty feet, 
and stuck fast in the mud ; it required the united efforts of 
eight men to extricate him. When he was brought to the sur- 
face it was found that the whole length of the sword and half 
his head had been buried in the mud. Sword-fish swim with 
great velocity. Vessels very often go into dock for repairs, 
and, when examined, planks have been found pierced by the 
swords of these fish. There are now on exhibition, in some of 
the museums, veritable swords broken off just as they pene- 
trated planks five inches or more in thickness. Sword-fish 
have been captured of one thousand pounds weight. Some- 
times after being struck, instead of remaining on the bottom or 
keeping quiet, they have been known to carry a dory, with 
the end of the line made fast to it, for tw^o miles to wandward 
at a rapid rate. 

A few years ago, I, with two others, captured a seven hun- 
dred pound sword-fish; the story is rather an interesting 
one. We were sailing along quieth^, when, suddenly, a sword- 
fish made his appearance. We were far from being ready for 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 43 

action, the warp in a tub being all kinked up from its last use. 
The dart was not attached to the rod, but there were lively 
times on that craft, and the striker was just able to reach the 
end of the bowsprit, with no time, we may say, to put himself 
even in a safe position to strike. Giving the monster a left- 
handed blow, which roused his spirit, down quicker than a 
flash the fish went for the bottom of the sea, the line fouled 
upon the anchor, and we had fine music forward. Fortunately 
the line did not catch so as to part it. It was drawn rapidly 
out of the tub, sometimes all clear, again in bunches, and the 
way the loose line flew around that boat was a caution to lands- 
men. Before he had run out all the line, one of the men got the 
dory alongside, and, placing the remaining line in the same, and 
attaching the end to the bow of the dory in such a manner 
that it could be easily cast off, if necessary, he remarked — 
" Now if you will hold on to your end of the line, I will mine," 
That fish carried the man two miles to windward, and by the 
time we could beat up to the boat, he had the fish up to the 
surface of the water and lashed to the side of the dorv. It 
may be easily imagined that we felt quite proud over our 
trophy. 

These fish are sometimes taken by splitting a mackerel and 
laying in it a hook ; a long line is then attached and the mack- 
erel is trolled through the water; but the method first described 
is the more common one. 

The following is an exceedingly interesting account of the 
capture of sword-fish, by a Cape Cod correspondent of a city 
paper, giving the particulars in the Cape dialect, also an- 
other part, not generally known, of the difficulty attending 
the procurement of the young sword-fish : 

" I've got a standin' offer of one hundred doUers for the first young so'dfish 
I can git," said a Cape Cod sword-fisherman. " You'd think," he continued, 
"tliat that was a hefty sort of an offer, when the fish is only bringin' eight 
cents a pound, but, ye see, tliere's never been a so'dfish seen in American 
waters less nor forty pounds, and only one at that. Where do they breed.'' 
Wall, that'.s the very p'int. They don't breed — leastwise around these diggins. 
I've been a so'dfishing around the south of the cape goin' on twenty year', and 
never see one less nor four foot long, and I've took thousands of 'em. 



44 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

"Yes, it's a big business. I don't know jest how many are in it, but you 
kin count forty or fift}' sail right round here that makes it a p'int to take all 
they can git. July, August and September is the best months, and between 
the fust and 15th of September, in warm seasons, I've done pretty well and 
caught as many as 17 in a day, but that was extr'or'nary work. We hev 
a regular rig ; jest step aboard ; " and the reporter, who had been talking from the 
edge of the dock, accepted the invitation and jumped aboard the trim fore and 
aft schooner that, with its sharp bow and rakish masts, was not incomparable 
to the jaunty fish it followed. 

"There's not very much toggery to speak of," said the skipper, walking for- 
ward. "There, you see, is the place where the man stands in striking the fish 
— merely an iron stancheon extending up from the end of the bowsprit, with a 
resting pad of wood nailed to it, so the man can lean against it in striking. 
The harpoon is called a lily, and is always kept lashed near the rest, all ready, 
you see, for a 'mergency." 

" Why a lily.^" " Wall, the prongs are branched out something like a fiower. 
There are five or six, all barbed, and the whole thing ends in an iron cap that 
fits into a wooden handle about ten foot long. A line is made fast to the iron, 
that is about two hundred feet long, the other end being fastened to a keg or 
barrel. When we're out to sea, the watch is always in the foretop, and as soon 
as he sees a fish he sings out, and the harpooner takes his place in the rest, 
and, as soon as the man at the wheel gits sight of the fish, he tries to put it 
over the bow ; then the inan jams her with the iron ; the line is kept clear 
and, when it all runs out, the keg is tossed over for the fish to tow until tired 
out, and the schooner keeps away for another fish. Sometimes five or six are 
sighted and struck before any are taken in. The kegs are generally painted 
white and easily followed, and you usually don't have much of a fight with 
the fish, as towing the keg a mile plays 'em out. But sometimes we git a big 
fellow on, and then there's what green hands call fun, though I don't see it in 
that light. I call to mind one fish we struck off Nantucket a year or so ago, 
that kem near cleanin' us all out. We got on to hiin all right and followed 
close up, nothin' else bein' in sight, and me and two of the boys jumped into 
the dory and sono hed the keg aboard ; but as soon as we touched the rope to 
take in slack he started off, and you'd a thought we'd run foul of a whale. It 
was an hour before we got the fish alongside, the schooner keepin' on and by, 
but we were afraid of passing the rope, thinkin' it might pull out the iron. 
Wall, we gradually hauled in and I stood up, holding an oar already to hit the 
brute on the head, when it gave a kind of lunge or side cut, taking the oar 
right between my hands and knocking me head over heels down in the bottom. 
In the flurry, the man in the bow slacked the rope, and the next minute 
crunch kem the fish, and up its so'd kem through the planking, stickin' about 
a foot into the boat, not three foot froin me. I had sense enough to grab it, 
and while I hung on and lashed it with the painter, the boys pulled alongside 
the schooner and we got it aboard. He measured fourteen foot — a putty big 
one. In fair weather they lie mosth' on the surface and whether they're asleep 
or just sunning themselves is hard to tell." 

"It's a great sight," he added, "to see 'em in among the bony fish. They 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 4^ 

go just like a cavalryman, striking up and down, right and left, killin' hundreds 
of 'em; and I've seen 'em keep a-doing it, which shows they kind o'like the 
fun of it." 

The sword-fish is perhaps one of the most interesting of our coast fishes, 
and the one hundred dollars offered for a young one would be as safe as one 
thousand dollars, as the fish do not breed on this side of the Atlantic, and the 
young only being occasionally found out to sea in the mid- Atlantic or on the 
shores of the Mediterranean, where they are followed by the fishermen of 
Messina. Here a rowboat is used, having a tall mast, upon which the watcher 
sits. The young sword-fish, even if found here, would hardly be recognized, 
so different are they in appearance from the adults. A young histiophorous, 
seven inches long, resembles if anything a young stickleback more than it 
does a sword-fish, with a head like a plesiosaurus. The jaws are equal in 
length and armed with fine teeth ; the eyes are enormous for the size of the 
body, while fi'om the head over the dorsal and ventral region extend two sharp 
spines. When about sixteen inches long the dorsal fin has become higher, the 
spines begin to disappear, and the upper jaw commences to look like a sword. 



We had an opportunity, August, 1885, while the Jennie B. 
was anchored on one of our favorite fishing grounds, about 
four miles S. E, of Wood Island, of w^itnessing a most sangui- 
nary fight between two of these "monsters of the mighty 
deep," that was quite exciting to m^'self and guests — Rev. Ith- 
aman W. Beard, of Dover, N. H., and Peter D. Smith, of 
Andover, Mass, We were attending to our lines, when we 
were attracted by a great splashing not far from us, and two 
sword fish made a breach in the water engaged in a fearful 
conflict. They evidently "meant business," and put their 
swords to use like gladiators in an arena. The largest would 
w^eigh, probably, some five hundred pounds, the other was con- 
siderably smaller. The fight was too fierce to last long, and 
ended by the larger fish thrusting his sword through the body 
of the other, the blood spouting from the wound and coloring , 
the water near them a deep red. The thrust was too fiercely 
given to leave hope for the escape of its object, and the 
wounded fish sank to be seen no more. The victor rushed 
around, after he had done the deed, with the velocity of an 
express train, and for quite a distance, after he left, his black 
back was out of water. The sea near by was bloody for some 
time after the fight was over, and it was evident that the sav- 



6 



4.6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

age wound had proved fatal. It would have been an act of 
justice, had we been close enough, had Capt. Frank set the 
'2-rains' into the back of the fratricidal fish. 



SWORD-FISH CAPTURE ON THE JENNIE B. 

The following is a letter from the proprietor of the Jennie 

B. to a young friend, describing the capture of a monster of 

the deep off Biddeford Pool, during his summer vacation: — 

BiDDEFORD Pool, Maine, Aug. ii, 1884. 
My Dear Don : 

If you can be patient for a short time, I will tell you the story of one of my 
recent exploits in the Jennie B., that may be of interest to you. On Saturday 
morning at five o'clock we started on a fishing cruise, our crew consisting of 
Capt. Frank, Albert, Edward Sly, Peter D. Smith and myself. We started 
with a fair wind, and were soon outside of Wood Island. After a little 
discussion as to our destination we concluded that the Peak should be 
our objective point. The breeze continued good and the prospects were fine 
for the day, although the wind from the N. E. had made the sea a little lumpy. 
We had breakfast about six o'clock, consisting of boiled eggs, boned turkey, 
bread and butter and tea. By this time all eyes were upon the shore marks, 
and when Old Orchard Sands came in sight by Wood Island, and the Butter- 
Pot hills over the high ground of Cape Porpoise, we knew that the Peak had 
been reached, and, rounding to, we dropped anchor in twenty-six fathoms of 
water. We immediately commenced fishing with mackerel for bait, but the 
dogs were so fierce, and there were so many of them on the rail at the same 
time — the dog-killer being in requisition a little too often — we abandoned fresh 
bait and took to clams. Matters soon changed, and it was not long before we 
had some fine cod and haddock in our kid, the cod weighing from five to thirty 
pounds. The haddock were nice large specimens, two of which were dressed 
for an excellent chowder, that was ready at 12:30; but, as the chowder was 
about to be passed out upon deck, there came a cry: " A sword-fish! See him 
there just astern of us!" " Shall we go for him.? " asked Capt. Frank. "Yes, 
by all means," said I, and quickly our anchor was upon deck, the Jennie B. 
giving chase to the finny monster. " There he breaches," said Albert, " and," 
he continued, " I have never known a sword-fish to fin after such a perform- 
ance as that." We still plowed on, however, but no sword-fish came in sight. 
Order was given to about ship and proceed to the inner Peak, for the purpose 
of drifting for cod-fish, when, before proceeding far, we discovered a small 
sword-fish to windward. " He aint bigger'n one of our cod-fish," said Albert. 
Capt. Frank threw the dart at him, but it did not take effect. In a few min- 
utes we discovered a large fish to leeward, and went for him. When the Jen- 
nie B. was in good position, the dart, that had been airing on the end of the 
pole, was quickly transferred by Capt. Frank to his fishship below, while pass- 
ing vinder the bow of our good schooner. Albert shouted, from aloft, " I 
guess you have back-boned that sword-fish, Frank." Frank said nothing. 



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mm 



m 









lihilillimil iiP'illlP ir;:: '"i, 








ilk 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 47 

but immediately came aft to surperintend matters. Our barrel had 
been left behind by mistake, so the end of the warp had been attached to the 
dorv and made ready to be cast off at a moment's warning. Frank paid out 
the line, travelling around the stern of the vessel, as he wished to keep the 
warp from fouling, and brought the dory up along-side as the last foot of the 
warp was being paved out. " Now whoever is going with this team has got 
to hurrv up," said Capt. Frank. Albert and I jumped in, and swiftly we left 
the side of the Jennie B., bound south. Albert remarked: "I never kriew a 
sword-fish to take a man toward home." How the water gurgled at the bow 
of our boat as she glided over the main at a 2.40 gait! After hauling us a mile 
or so, his lordship stopped for a little rest, and we embraced the opportunity for 
getting a little slack line to come and go on in our dory. Then Albert com- 
menced hauling, and I sat amidship with the oars, in order to obey the com- 
mand of "back water!" Three times the fish was hauled almost to the sur- 
face, and as many times we were treated to a gratuity in the shape of an ocean 
" skip," with our single hitch. Each time the fish came to the surface, and get- 
ting wind of something foreign to his nature, he would be off, but the fourth 
time the slapping of the monster's tail against the warp was more weak. I 
thought of the Portland vessel's dory that was pierced by a sword-fish, and 
divested m^'self of mv barvel, laying it one side — not wishing to use it, how- 
ever, to stuff into holes made by the sword-fish, but to be free from any 
incumbrance in case of accident. Soon Albert remarked: "He is growing 
feeble, and I think that in a few minutes you will see a handsome fish along- 
side." And we did. The warp was passed to me, and Albert, raising the 
fish's head with the gaff, reached his gills and made old ocean pretty red in 
the vicinity of the dory. He then took a rope and lashed the tail of the fish, 
which Avas secured to the stern of the dorj', the line still attached, and we 
rowed toward the Jennie B., that had all the time been trying to reach us 
against the wind. A few moments and the huge fish was on the vessel's deck, 
hoisted on board by the main throat halyards. And now for his length. The 
sword lav under the seat, as far aft as possible, while his tail rested upon the 
thwart bv the mainmast, all of thirteen feet; weight about four hundred 
pounds. The fish had one of the longest and finest swords I ever saw. In 
all snug, and Capt. Frank, noticing that the fish was well ironed, sarcastically 
said to Albert: "He looks as though he Avas hackboncd .'" Albert said nothing, 
but put on one of those looks you have seen him wear when thinking of the 
dog in the back yard, as he is questioned regarding the fruit there. We imme- 
diately wheeled around for home — time, one hour in capturing the fish. It 
was now 4, p. m., the breeze light, and our progress homeward slow, until we 
found ourselves becalmed four miles S. E. of Wood Island, and remained 
in almost the same position for three hours, with the exception of being 
brought nearer the land by the incoming tide. At 11, p. m. we passed in by 
Gooseberry Island, and at 11 :3o we rounded to and made fast to our moorings, 
Avhere the Jennie B. was allowed to rest upon the rise and fall of the tide till 
Monday morning. And there ends the tale of my fish. 

Saturday was a good day for sword-fish. The Brookmeyer yacht, " The 
Whisper," was fortunate enough to get one, and another one was secured by 



48 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Capt. J. E. Goldthwait from the bow of the " Emma Pearl," after two dories 
had chased the fish for an horn* or two. It happened thus: It was calm, and 
Chas. Verrill and J. E. G. in one dory, and Paul Hussey and another man in 
a second dory went in pursuit of the same fish, but the fish ran the gauntlet of 
both and escaped, and the chase was abandoned. Afterwards the Brookmeyer's 
dory, manned by C. V. and J. E. G., went in chase, this time in company with 
James Bruell, (Emma Pearl). No chance offering, Capt. J. E. G. proposed 
taking the pulpit of the Emma Pearl, and letting James and Atwater Bruell 
row, so, with wind and rowing, the sword-fish was taken. J. W. S. 

HALIBUT. 

"This fish is characterized by a flat, oblong body, com- 
pressed vertically. The eyes and colored surface are on the 
right side; the lips large and fleshy, the lower jaw 'the longer. 
The common species grow to a length of from three to six 
feet, varying in weight fi"om one hundred to five hundred 
pounds. The right side is of an almost dark brown, and the 
left or under surface pure white. It is found from the coast of 
New York to Greenland and also on the Northern shores of 
Europe. The Boston market is supplied principally from 
Georo-e's and Grand Banks, and Nantucket Shoals. In summer 
it is caught by hook and line in shallow water, retiring to 
deeper in the winter; it is abundant in the Bay of Fundy and 
in the waters of Nova Scotia. It is an exceedingly voracious 
fish, feeding upon cod, haddock, skates, mackerel, flounders 
and other species of similar size." 



The foil owing extract from my diary I give for the benefit 
of the young folks: 

August 3, 1882. 

This is " children's day." In many places excursion parties 
are given for the benefit of children. The older people give 
up the day and devote their time wholly to the little ones. 
Now at the sea-side there are scores of children to amuse, when 
they get tired of playing in the sand or climbing the rocks. 
Fishing from the rocks is good sport, and taking a dory and 
rowing among the islands, is exhilarating, but deep-sea fishing 
seems to be the crowning delight of both old and young. The 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 49 

Jennie B. was brought into requisition for the sole benefit of the 
children — those belonging to my family. The start for the 
outside tishing-ground was made at 11, a. m. We anchored 
and fished awhile near the " Hussey Buoy " about two miles 
out, but not finding fish very plent}^ we " up anchor " and pro- 
ceeded to the eastern edge of the channel, anchoring alongside 
of Captain Wm. M. Hussey, who had some gentlemen on 
board his boat; a St. Louis party. Not much luck there, 
either, only a few dog-fish and a stray cod or two. The chil- 
dren, however, enjoyed the sport. 

I had been in the habit, when out, of baiting a line and let- 
ting it " set " in the hope of perhaps capturing a halibut. By 
the voracious appetites of the dog-fish we were getting rather 
short of bait, so I cut up a pollock and baited my big line with 
that, and presently I felt something of more than ordinary size 
tugging away at the end of the line. I settled the hook into 
whatever it was, and commenced to draw. I presume that, 
had I been a regular fisherman, I should not have let the fish 
had his own way so much, but I did not want to get completely 
" tuckered out," and I was not hasty in drawing in my line. I 
made a mistake, as the sequel will show. 

Frank Goldthwait unreeled the line and Captain James E. 
Goldthwait stood by with the gaff. The fish ran out nearly 
all my double shot line of forty-five fathoms — two hundred and 
seventy feet — and I remarked to Frank, " Bend on the sword- 
fish warp if you need it, and let the fish have the barrel to play 
with." But after running twice, his "lordship" was willing to 
come my way once more, and with the perspiration standing 
on my brov^, I hauled the " critter," whatever it was, up about 
two-thirds of the distance from the bottom, when suddenly my 
gear gave away and down went the fish deeper into his native 
element, leaving me standing in blank astonishment upon the 
deck of the yacht, a disappointed lover of fish. Upon drawing 
in my line I found that the hook had been " boned " and the 
point gone. 

I determined to try again, but what was I to do for bait? 



j-o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

A fine cusk lay in the tub, from which was cut a tempting 
morsel, and down went my line again for "chances." I 
remarked to Capt. Jim, " I think that we had better run in soon 
on account of the children, as the clouds begin to look dark, with 
every appearance of a thunder shower;" but, with almost the 
same breath, I continued, " I guess we had better wait a min- 
ute, as I have a rousing bite from some kind of a large fish." 
A few heavy " sags " stimulated my courage to pull a halibut, 
and, fetching the line a sudden draw, I succeeded in hooking 
the prize. I drew the fish a fathom or two; "Here, Frank," 
said I, "you don't seem to be very busy, here is a job for 
you to haul in this fish." He took hold in right good earnest, 
and, hand-over-hand, he hauled the " unknown " till it was 
near the surface of the water. To go under the boat was 
the next move of the fish, which hindered the capture very 
much. As soon as we caught a glimpse of him we recog- 
nized a good sized halibut, but the fish was not ours yet, by 
any means. What were we to do? As the fish struggled on 
the surface of the water, to have used the gaff would have 
been poor judgment, as the power he possessed, would have 
wrenched the gaff from the hand of the striker, and, prob- 
ably, down the fish would have gone by "jigging" the 
hook clear. The hook was set deep in the throat. This 
was awkward, as it was difficult to give the usual " settler " 
upon the snout. As soon as the fish became in a measure 
quiet, and the revolving motion ceased, he got that desired 
settler upon the end of his nose. The splashing and foaming 
of old ocean then ceased, and striking the gaff deep into the 
upper jaw of the fish, we made the matter pretty certain 
that we might carry that halibut home. It was quite a 
lift to bring the fish over the rail of the Jennie B., but strong 
arms accomplished it, and soon the treasure lay in the bottom 
of the vessel, much to the satisfaction of the children, who went 
into ecstasies over the capture. Upon reaching shore the hali- 
but was put upon the scales and he " tipped the beam " at 
one hundred and sixty-two pounds. 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 31 

When the halibut was landed, many gathered around to 
view the trophy, and one person, with a merry twinkle of the 
eye, remarked: "I sa}-, what do they charge for halibut when 
thev are taken out of a ' Bank fisherman ' outside the Pool, on 
their way to Gloucester?" thinking, doubtless, to create a 
laugh, as such a thing might occur. Just at that moment the 
fish raised his tail and brought it down upon the pebbly beach 
with considerable force, when the gentleman remarked, " I've 
nothing further to say, as I see the fish is able to tell his own 
' tale.' " Knowing my long familiarity with the Pool, a St. 
Louis gentleman upon being asked by a fisherman why he 
did not go out and catch a halibut, replied — "Well, when 
I have been at the Pool playing marbles with the natives for 
forty years or so, I'll go out and get a halibut." 

Perhaps I may take some credit to myself, as this halibut 
was the only one taken in the immediate vicinity of the Pool 
during the summer, and I may add I am the only " visitor " that 
ever succeeded in capturing a halibut at Biddeford Pool within 
the memory of the oldest inhabitant; so it was said. Of 
course, I cannot vouch for this saying — - this is the story as I 
heard it. 

Supplementary to the foregoing halibut stor}^ I will relate 
another experience, and although recently published, yet I 
reproduce it to show the voracity of this fish : 

A gentleman from New York was recommended to go to 
some fishing place upon the coast of Maine for his health, and, 
wishing to give zest to his sailing, tried fisHing one day. The 
writer was very willing to do all for his comfort possible, so 
arranged a trip among the deep-sea peoples. Having never 
caught a salt water fish, he was jubilant over the prospect of 
landing a fine cod or haddock, never dreaming of an3'thing 
larger. The first time his line went down there was a 
response, and, quite elated, he drew his hook to the surface to 
find that a hungry cod had seized the tempting bait of another 
line also, and there the fish was with both hooks in his mouth. 
The skipper remarked, " You will have to try again, Mr. B., 



^g. GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

I don't see that you have captured more than half a fish." 
The line was soon down again, and in a moment, with a nerv- 
ous twitch of the hand and a countenance bespeaking pleas- 
ure, he exclaimed, " Oh, I've got a buster this time!" The 
skipper glanced toward him, and seeing him tugging away at 
the line, remarked, " I wouldn't pull out that rock, please, as 
we shall have difficulty in getting ashore if the water all runs out 
through that hole!" The response was, "That's no rock, I 
tell you, I've got a big fish on; my! how he pulls; there is no 
mistake about that." 

The skipper by this time was convinced that such was the 
case, and supposing it to be a halibut cautioned B. about hand- 
ling him. In a moment, with hands thrown up, he ejaculated, 
"Oh! he's gone; that's too bad!" Hauling in the line he 
found his hook gone. While the captain was putting on a 
hook, the gentleman fished with the captain's line upon the 
other side of the boat. He in a moment shouted, " Oh ! I've 
got him again, or another just as big!" The captain, seeing 
that he had a big fish of some kind, said, "Now be careful; 
that pulls like a halibut, don't let him ' jig ' on 3^ou, if you do 
you will lose him." But the gentleman was much excited, 
not being used to hauling large fish, and he had his gear broken 
asrain. Misfortune number two for him. 

All this time the writer was quietly fishing at the for- 
ward part of the boat, and only letting up long enough to wit- 
ness the fun, with the disappointing sequel. Said he to 
himself, " There seem to be some monsters below ; I guess I 
.will go for them and see what luck I'U have." A good, strong 
line was brought into requisition, and, baiting the hook with a 
tempting morsel of mackerel, it was not many minutes before 
I had a big fish hooked. The first thing to do was to have 
another line " bent on," as he had already began to run on the 
bottom. I hauled him three times nearly to the surface and as 
many times he had it all his own way. He ran out more than 
half of the second line, when he became wear}^ and was will- 
ing to come my way. Brought to the surface the cap- 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. si 

tain gave him a smart rap upon the nose, and, striking the 
gaff deep into him, the fish soon lay low in the bottom of the 
boat — a seventy pound halibut — and, strange to say, had the 
two hooks in him that the gentleman in the stern of the boat 
had lost only a little while before; one in his mouth and 
the other in his side. He evidently had been caught by swim- 
ming around the hook, and, by his hauling so hard, the cap- 
tain thought Mr. B. had hold of a rock. The second time, 
the fish was hauled by the mouth, but by "jigging" broke 
away, leaving the other hook in his jaw. It may be be- 
lieved that there was some jollity over that funny capture. 

THE LOBSTER. 

This " long-tailed Crustacea," well known at the Pool, enters 
so minutely into the constituents of man's gastronomic taste, 
that he deserves extended mention — more, indeed, than can be 
given here. Like some eminent wit, he is welcomed at every 
table, where he holds most prominent position. The elements 
in him are so finely mixed that he draws all to him. He is 
smooth and oily in his manner, yet has a tinge of sharp acridity 
that gives him a charming piquancy, and is always well dressed 
for company. He is not, naturally, a handsome beast, but, like 
Capt. John Smith's alligator, has a very amiable expression 
when he smiles. His habits, however, are stern, as he moves 
backward in going forward, and, like a mediaeval warrior, 
cases himself in armor, which he casts off but once a year. 
He is a pugnacious fellow, before coming into society, and is 
always getting into hot water. Though nominally a cold wa- 
ter man, he steams it, sometimes, and is seen thereafter as red 
as others make themselves by the same process. His reputa- 
tion, however, does not suffer much by it, as his friends and 
admirers like him all the better for his ruddy aspect. He is 
called, in his native element, " The Shore Sentinel," or " Sea 
Soldier," and it is supposed that the British soldier adopted the 
color of his uniform from that of the lobster. The lobster's 
uniform at first is black, which fades into red upon being 

7 



S4 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

boiled: the British remains the same to the clo'es. A negro 
philosopher was deceived by this similarity of color. A party 
of soldiers insulted him by taunting him about his blackness. 
He turned upon them with the remark: " You needn 't say 
nuffin — you was as black as me afore you was b'iled." There 
is no mistaking the identity of a lobster, especially if you should 
try to shake hands with him before he loses his sea habits. Mrs. 
Nickleby had an obscure idea regarding him when she recom- 
mended to Madeline Bray, who was recovering from fever, that 
she take a dozen lobsters on the half shell, as a means of recu- 
peration, although she admitted that oysters might be the 
thing she had in her mind, and the great English naturalist. Sir 
Joseph Banks, conceived the idea that fleas and lobsters were of 
the same family, and boiled a lot to convince a party of savants, 
to find that his theory was fallacious. 

As defined by the books, the lobster is "a well known ma- 
rine crustacean. The common lobster of the United States 
has the general form of the craw fish, the shell of which is olive, 
or blackish green, with darker spots and blotches, that, as 
is well known, become red by boiling. The principal organ 
of locomotion is the tail, which by a sudden bending under- 
neath, sends the animal backward with great velocity. One of 
the most striking peculiarities of the lobster is the ease and fre- 
quency with which the large claws are separated, either by ac- 
cident or from injury received in their constant attacks upon 
each other. These and the other limbs are soon replaced, and 
it is very common to catch one of these animals with one claw 
absent or smaller than its fellow. They are said frequently to 
lose them after a heavy clap of thunder, at which they are al- 
ways much disturbed. They vary in length as caught for the 
market, from one to two feet, though specimens are seen con- 
siderably larger than this, and in weight from two to fifteen 
pounds. They are common in the market, and are considered a 
great delicacy." 

They are caught principally in "traps," the construction of 
which is as follows: Two ends and a centre piece, made of 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 55 

hard wood and half round, say at the base by two feet, joined 
a substantial piece of hard wood. Then laths are used of the 
whole length and laid open, the space left being the width of a 
lath, so the openings are uniform. At either end strong cord 
made into a net work, concave and ending in a circle of six 
inches in diameter; then a hoop completes it. These are held 
in place by being attached, by a line, to the centre of sides of 
the trap. A cover is made by nailing three short cleats 
across say three or four laths, with hinges, of pieces of leather, 
and are commonly introduced just below the centre of the trap 
on top. A cord with a wooden pin is attached, which serves 
to hold the bait in place and also to fasten the door of the trap. 

In the summer months these traps are set near shore and 
around the rocky bottoms near ledges and islands, and the plan 
is to sink them, with a strong line attached, and a floating buoy 
to mark the spot. The winter lobstering is much more haz- 
ardous, as the traps are arranged upon a long trawl and sunk 
to the bottom some two or three miles from land, and in ten to 
twenty fathoms. Commonly a small vessel will carr}^ say six 
men and as many dories, and while the men are drawing their 
traps, the vessel is jogged by a man w^io has that part of the 
programme to perform, and shares equally with the catchers. 
The lobsters are brought on shore alive and placed in cars, and 
when sutficient quantities are collected, a smack containing a 
" well " takes them, or they are boiled and shipped to the nearest 
market. There is a large business carried on all along the 
New England shore, of w^hich Biddeford Pool gets her share. 

Boston is a great market for the lobster, and its commonness 
renders it dangerous lest the supply give out. The legislature 
of Maine has secured, by law, the protection of the lobster dur- 
ing the months of August, September and October, when 
it is casting its shell and is not wholesome to eat; and 
Massachusetts has passed a law to regulate the size at 
which they may be caught and sold (10^ inches long), 
which is regarded no more than the idle wind, each dealer 
keeping a measure of his own, suited to all circumstances. 



j6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Lobsters are to be had all the year around, sick or not, 
and a law like that of Maine is needed, which would af- 
ford, perhaps, ample protection if the law were properly re- 
garded, and all prosecuted who take them or keep them for sale 
during the months named. The consumption of lobsters for 
the home market and for canning is enormous. 

So much is the lobster used for food in Boston, that it has been 
said by some one, doubtless sardonically, that its people are dis- 
tinguished by lobster traits of look and action, and that it would 
not be strange to see those at table get up and crawl around 
among the dishes; and another declared that Bostonians derive 
so much phosphorus from eating lobsters that many of them 
glow in the dark like decayed fish. This is a lurid slander, 
that no one of any intelligence can believe, the utterer being ac- 
tuated by a frivolous desire to make light of the Hub. 

THE BLUE-FISH. 

It is within but a few years, comparatively, that the blue- 
lish has appeared, to any great extent, in our waters, and its 
coming, in any great numbers, is a matter of uncertainty, de- 
pending mainly upon the abundance of the alewife and herring 
that flock up the rivers to their spawning places. The Mer- 
rimac, Piscataqua and Saco rivers are famous resorts for them, 
in their season, and they afford rare sport for their captors, 
who find in them a very difficult prey. They are very vora- 
cious and seize a bait with avidity, but it requires the utmost 
skill and activity to "land them" in a boat. They double and 
turn and rush ahead, and, if the hook is not securely settled, 
they will shake it out of their jaws and escape, requiring a 
very adroit fisherman to master them. If not rapped on the 
head, the moment they are captured, it is not quite safe, espe- 
cially to a novice, to put his finger in the mouth of a blue-fish 
in extracting the hook, for the long and sharp teeth of the fish 
may close on the intruding digit, instinctively or maliciously, 
and inflict serious injury. There have been cases where fin- 
gers have been bitten to the bone by the struggling victim. In 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 57 

pursuit of their food they are very destructive, and not at all 
particular about " eating clean " as they go along, for where 
they have made a dash into a school of herring or young 
mackerel, thousands of wounded and dead fish float upon the 
water, with parts bitten out of them, presenting evidence of 
the reckless waste of these ravenous feeders. They are caught 
in rivers, by anchoring boats in the eddy and throwing a line — 
furnished with an inverted eelskin bait, a bare hook at the end, 
the skin drawn up over the line to prevent it from being bitten 
off — into the channel through which they pass, and, on the 
open water, by trolling a line, baited in the same manner, over • 
the stern of sailing vessels, which affords exhilerating sport. 

During a season when the blue fish were plenty in the Mer- 
rimac, a small party was formed in Newburyport for a day's 
fishing down the river. The party was to consist of but five, 
and all were on the qui vive for the promised enjoyment. A 
Merrimac wherry was chartered for the day, a craft of the 
most anomalous character, almost as broad as long, with one 
mast stepped at the bow, and made to meet a reqirement that 
she should be proof against upsetting. It was a very roomy 
boat for fishing, and, although her sailing qualities might not 
much excel those of a mud- dredger, she was safe and clean, 
very desirable qualities to the two amateur fishermen of 
the party. One of these, was a homeopathic physician, 
whose " path " had never been upon deep water, but who went 
into the spirit of this treat with a real old school enthusiasm. 
He was on hand promptly on the morning of the excursion, as 
if he had been summoned to a consultation, or some case 
demanding immediate attention, but he had left his book of 
medicines at home with the other paraphernalia of his profes- 
sion, and appeared as fresh and bright as a man off duty should 
appear. It being so pleasurable an affair — only an excursion 
down the river — that he had made no change in his dress, was 
immaculate from hat to boots, and wore his gloves to prevent 
the sun from burning his hands. He was jolly at the prospect. 

It was a bright day. The river, away down to its mouth. 



5<? GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

seemed as smooth as a mirror. A gentle and fair breeze merely 
rippled its surface, and never did an old tub of a boat start for 
a good time under fairer auspices. The doctor was very effi- 
cient in getting ready. 

" Now, doctor," said the one who took the place of captain, 
"just haul in that painter when they cast it off." 

The doctor looked perplexed at the command. There were 
but two boys on the wharf, and not the sign of a paint pot or 
anything denoting the presence of a painter. 

" What ? " said he in a very unnautical style. 

"Pull that rope in," cried the skipper, as one of the boys 
threw it into the water. 

"Oh, that's it, is it ?" said the doctor, and he pulled in the 
line in a most ultra-marine manner, as the bark bowled away 
before the wind. 

The doctor ruminated somewhat upon the word "painter," 
but the scene diverted his attention, as he saw the shore reced- 
ing, as it seemed, and the novelty of his surroundings gave 
him great satisfaction. At length they reached the mouth of 
the river across which a sand bar lay, save a narrow channel 
through which the tide was rushing rapidly, and the blue-fish 
were seen, in numbers, jumping their length out of the water, 
following the incoming flood. The. bar was submerged, and 
the swollen water outside came tumbfing over it in great bil- 
lows, making a serious swash inside. The captain brought 
the boat near the tide. 

"Over killock," he said, and the boat, at her moorings, 
danced merrily. 

The lines were already adjusted, and, throwing over into the 
channel, there were immediate bites, the captain drawing in 
the first fish — an eight pounder — and several succeeding, that 
made the affair exceedinglv interesting. No one thought of 
his neighbor; all were intent on the sport. 

" Hello ! " said the captain, at length, " what 's the matter ? " 

The doctor had thrown over with the rest, but had not 
caught any, though several had tackled his bait, and a deep 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 



59 



sigh from him had attracted the skipper's attention. He was 
pale as a sheet, except where a faint blue line ran from his 
nostrils down to his chin, and his face wore an expression of 
deep misery. 

"I — I do n't feel quite well," he said in reply to the captain's 
question. " I wish I was at home behind the old horse. I did n't 
think we were cominfj so far." 

"You 've hooked a fish, doctor ! " cried one, excitedly; " pull 
him in ! " 

The doctor did n't move. Had every fish in the river been 
on his line, he would not have cared. The fish was pulled in 
for him and scored to his account. The doctor was sick, and 
no mistake. He hung over the gunwale as if he were admir- 
ing himself in the mirroring sea, and then, unable to support 
himself, he lay down in the boat, as well as he could, and 
begged like a sick girl, to be put on shore. A dory was called 
and he was carried in, where he lay on the unsheltered sand 
without moving a muscle. When the tide turned the fish re- 
fused to bite, and the killock was raised for the return. The 
doctor still lay on his back, and the boat was headed for him. 

" Come, doctor," said the captain, " we are going home now. 
Get on board. The voyage up will be but a small pill affair. 
Like your similar curious decanter. Be cured by a hair of the 
same dog that bit you." 

"Can't go," he said in a faint tone. "Won't you send a 
carriage for me ? There's a good fellow." 

" Carriage ! Why here you are on a desolate island, inhab- 
ited only by savages — cannibals. They'll pick' your bones 
before to-morrow." 

" Well, then I suppose I must go. But be easy, won't you ? 
and do n't bear too hard on the tiller." 

All was promised and he was assisted on board the boat. It 
was unfortunate for the doctor that wind and tide were both 
against his comfort. The boat had to be " beat up," and, as 
the wind had increased, she laid over on her several tacks even 
to taking in water. As she luffed or wore the doctor was able 



6o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

to take advantage of the change and kept on the windward 
side, but at times he half dosed and the coming about would 
bring his face directly into the water on the leeward side, but 
he made no complaint. But the best and the worst of times 
must end, and after a tedious sail the wharf was reached, upon 
which the doctor was hoisted utterly jinable to help himself. 

" Doctor," said the skipper, " I should n't like to have you 
prescribe for me to-day." 

" Why not ? " he asked faintly. 

" Oh, because you are in such condition that you might give 
me an overdose, or something of the sort." 

" True, but I shall prescribe for myself, allopathically, in a 
most decided manner." 

"What?" 

" JVot to go blue-fishing again. It has been a blue fishing 
day for me." And he walked feebly up the wharf, a chartered 
boy behind him dragging the big blue-fish the doctor had 
caught. 

It is strange that so little is said about blue-fish by ichthyolo- 
gists and sportsmen when their capture is so fascinating, and 
their eating so delicious. Frank Forrester, however, de- 
votes a space to them, and " enthuses " somewhat over their 
capture, giving them place as a fish for ladies to assist in 
the sport of taking. He says : " There are many worse 
kinds of sport than this ; the swift motion of the vessel, 
the dashing spray, and the rapid biting of the fish, combine 
to create a very pleasurable excitement." To those who have 
caught blue-fish this will be considered very faint praise. 
Forrester calls the blue-fish " a great mackerel," which it 
really is, and when cooked, fresh from the water, it affords 
a most delightful meal — "superlative," Forrester terms 
it. It has only been known in American waters since 1810. 
Since then its appearing, in great numbers, has been but at 
intervals, though every year there are enough to yield rare 
sport and considerable profit to fishermen and amateurs; but 
they desert the rivers for years, and their coming into inland 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 6i 

Streams is eagerly looked for. They are common on the New 
Jersey coast, where they are caught from the shore by the 
thousand, and at their coming ever3'body is on the cjui vive. 
The shore fishers use for a lure what they call a " squid " — a 
bare hook cased at the shank in a metal coverinir — which thev 
throw into the surf, where the fish have followed the herring 
ashore ; the fishers then run rapidly back from the beach, the line 
over their shoulder, instead of pulling in by hand, the fish, 
almost invariably, having taken the glittering bait. Multitudes 
are caught in this way and are salted for future use. Trolling, 
as it is practiced in New England waters, is nearly the same, 
but is not attended with the excitement of the Jersev fishing. 

An instance of trolling is related, where a party went out, 
before daylight, from one of our eastern ports, to indulge in the 
sport. One of the gentlemen, with the injunction, " Call 
me early," threw over his trolling line and turned in, " with 
boots and barvel on," to be ready with the first. Like 
the doctor in the preceding story, he had been disturbed 
somewhat by the motion of the vessel, but not enough to 
destroy his interest in the sport anticipated. His soul was in 
arms and eager, and when he was aroused by a cry, before the 
day had well broke, that something was on his line, he started 
from his berth with the alacrity of a boy, though weighing two 
hundred pounds, and rushed upon deck, where all were looking 
at his line, that apparently a big iish was attached to, which 
swayed and jerked about as if trying to escape. 

"Mr. Pool, you're in luck," said one; "first fish." 

"Yes," said another, " and a big one. too. Pool takes the 
pool." 

All had something to say, and Pool, the proprietor of the 
line, began to " pool " in. He was quite near-sighted and some- 
what confused by being so suddenly called, but he could see 
the object struggling in the water, the vessel going at a brisk 
rate, and every nerve was strained to its utmost tension as he 
drew in the line. 

" You must pull quick for blue-tish," one suggested, and he 



bs GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

put in with a will, but his hand slipped, in his eagerness, and 
he had to commence over again, pulling in hand over hand. It 
was an exciting moment for him. The line again slipped from 
his control. 

" That's a fish worth trying for," said a tempter by his side. 
" Hold to him. Pool." 

With a firmer grip upon the line, the fisherman pulled, and 
after considerable further struggle the coveted object was 
drawn up to the vessel and lifted aboard, revealing an ancient 
umbrella that some one had hooked on to the line! There was 
a laugh, of course, that any practical joke, however idiotic, will 
cause, but the victim took it good naturedly, and said his turn 
to laugh would happen some time, which it did, then and there, 
for he caught more fish than any one on board, the perpetrator 
of the joke scoring none. 

A story has recently found its way into print about a man 
who went into an eating house to obtain a fish dinner. " We 
have nothing but blue-fish, sir," said the waiter. " No mat- 
ter," replied the hungry man ; " I don't care anything about 
the color. I am color blind." 

Immense numbers of blue-fish are caught in weirs on Cape 
Cod, and the market is principally supplied by the fishermen 
of the Cape. See chapter on "Weirs." 

COD-FISHING. 

One of the most important industries of the Pool is cod-fish- 
ing. This has been carried on more extensively in years past 
than at present, although it is still pursued with no little suc- 
cess. There are eight species of cod belonging to North 
America. The "American" cod is the common species of the 
New England coast, ranging from New York to the St. Law- 
rence river. This species grows to a great size, one having 
been caught weighing one hundred and seven pounds. 

The Bank cod is taken on the Grand Banks, in the deep 
water off the coast of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Labra- 
dor, and is found from the coast of Maine to 67 degrees lati- 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 63 

tude. One of these fish has been caught, weighing ninety 
pounds. The Tom-Cod is found along the American coast, 
from New York to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, at all 
seasons of the year. It frequently ascends rivers. The cod 
is an exceedingly voracious fish, devouring everything in its 
way in the shape of small fish, Crustacea, marine worms 
and shell-fish. Many deep sea "specimens" have been taken 
from the stomach of the cod that could be had in no other 
way. They are gregarious in their habits, going in schools 
of greater or less size, and are governed in their move- 
ments by the presence or absence of food, the spawning 
instinct, and the temperature of the water. When migrat- 
ing, the schools are quite dense, though by no means like 
schools of menhaden or mackerel. But when they reach 
the feeding ground, they seem to distribute themselves over 
a large area, though more or less drawn together in lit- 
tle groups. This is particularly noticeable on the shore 
when the fish are moving about in search of food. The 
fishermen soon capture all that chance to be on one patch 
of rocks, and must then row to another in order to find a 
new supply. 

These fish sometimes make long journeys from one bank 
to another, and, indeed, from one region to a very distant 
one. It is, of course, nearly impossible to trace their move- 
ments at such times, and one can usually only guess at the 
place whence they came, or distance traveled. It is gener- 
ally acknowledged by the fishermen, that, during the feeding 
season, fish are plenty only where food exists in considera- 
ble quantit}^ and that after "cleaning out" one part of the 
bank they go elsewhere. In moving from one bank to 
another, where the intervening depth is much greater, it 
seems probable that instead of following the bottom they 
swim in a horizontal plane, following a stratum of nearly 
uniform density and temperature. The finding of pebbles or 
small stones in their stomachs is not an uncommon occur- 
rence. The fishermen regard this as an unfailing sign that 



64 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

the fish have just arrived or are about to leave the bank. 
These stones may play no small part in adjusting the spe- 
cific gravity of the fish to that of the stratum of water in 
which they are to move. Frequent examinations of the 
stomach, show that the cod is not always particular in 
its diet. Any bright or curious object often attracts its 
attention, and is very likely to be swallowed by it. Thus, 
knives, nippers, and even vegetables, lost overboard or 
thrown from a vessel, are frequently found in the stomachs 
of the fish when they are being dressed. An instance is 
related of a large-sized sea-fowl (the coot) being taken from 
the stomach of a cod. 

The cod-fish seems to have few enemies. Among fishes 
its principal enemy is the dog-fish. These fish make their 
appearance on the coast of Maine about the first of June, 
where they remain until September. The arrival of a school 
of dog-fish in any locality, is a signal for all other fish to 
leave; and the fishermen might as well weigh anchor and 
leave too. 

Cod fishing commences about the first of May and con- 
tinues till the end of November. The different baits used 
are the capelin, herring, squid, mackerel, lobsters, crabs, 
clams and mussels. This fishing is carried on to a great 
extent in this country, France, England and Norway, 
although other nations participate in a smaller degree. The 
principal mode of capture is by the use of the trawl, though 
the hand line is used in man}" cases with success. Cod-fish 
is esteemed for food all over the world. The mode of 
preparing boneless cod has been adopted only a few years, 
yet it has given a great increase to the fish trade. Like 
many another business, it has its outs; for there is no doubt 
that hake, pollock, cusk and haddock are sold for boneless 
cod. 

When the writer first became acquainted with the fisher- 
men at the Pool, their fleet was composed of pinkeys 
I " chebacco boats,*" so-called]. These getting out of fashion. 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 63 

the more modern clipper-schooners were built to take the 
place of the uncouth pinkey; and at one time quite a fleet 
of tine vessels was owned here, besides numerous smaller 
craft that did good business at shore-fishing. 

It may not be amiss to give the names of the different 
vessels, that have been owned at the Pool since the writer's 
remembrance, all of which have been engaged in the 
fishing business. They are as follows: Go On, Alert, 
Leo, Eliza, Fair Lady, Alliance, Victoria, Harmony, Water 
Witch, Brilliant, Emerald, Echo, Banner, Wave Crest, Twi- 
light, Three Partners, Cottage Girl, Dragon, J. L. Berry, 
Ripple, Carrie, Louisa, Wild Rover, Fountain, Flying Cloud. 
Rehef, Hattie Ellen, Eva A. Race, Maid of the Mist, Flora 
Temple, Maj. Anderson, J. W. Fairfield, Lady Lincoln, 
Fannie Reed, Maud Gertrude, Ida Grover, Etta B. Rich, 
Annabel and Helen F. Ward. The ten last named were 
built at Kennebunkport, ranging from twenty to sixty tons 
each, and no finer sea boats or better sailers of their size 
were ever built. 

The vessels are painted and thoroughly overhauled, in 
winter, for the summer season. And with everything in 
readiness they " strike " out to try their luck in capturing 
the finny tribe. Jeffrey's bank, Tanto, New Ledge, Kettle 
Bottom, Drunken Ledge, Cashes, Monhegan Falls, and Peak 
are the fishing grounds that are generally sought. These 
places are from ten to sixty miles from the Pool, and are 
noted for the large fares taken from each. From one to 
three weeks is required for a trip, and sometimes a full 
fare is caught in a few davs. As an old fisherman re- 
marked, •' It's all owing to how thev bite." 

Many instances can be related, showing the uncertaintv 
as well as the certaintv of the business. An old skipper 
related a few to me which were verv interesting, and I 
will give them as told: Three vessels belonging to the 
Pool, anchored on Tanto the same day and nearlv the same 
hour. The crews set their nets at sundown for bait: 



66 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

when morning came they hauled them and found nothing. 
The wind being quite high, the sea rough, and the pros- 
pect for a catch not very flattering, two of the vessels got 
under way and made a harbor. The crew on board the 
other vessel concluded to hold on and await results. They 
spent the day in fixing their gear, and at night set their 
nets in hopes to get the desired bait. The watch was set 
and everything on board made snug for the night. When 
morning came they hauled their nets and found bait in 
plenty. The wind had changed during the night from south 
to north-east and it was raining quite hard. Nothing 
daunted they went to work with a will, found fish plenty, 
and, in three days from the time they left home, they 
returned with as good a fare as ever was landed at the 
Pool. At another time tish being scarce on Tanto and 
other inshore grounds, one of the Pool skippers concluded 
to take a run to Kettle Bottom, thirty-five miles distant, and 
try his luck. As he was well acquainted with the ground, 
he anchored his vessel on the right spot, and, in less than 
three days, succeeded in getting his fare. 

Many cases might be mentioned, where less than a week 
was consumed in getting a full fare. To show that there 
is another side to the fishing business, where the uncer- 
tainty comes in, I will mention one of the many that occur. 
Another vessel belonging to the Pool, anchored on Kettle 
Bottom, and the crew had great hopes of a speedy catch. 
They set their trawls, but, before they could haul them, a 
gale sprung up, the schooner's hawser parted, and they were 
obliged to run to Portland for a harbor, losing all their 
trawls, anchor and cable. This frequently occurs; but I 
only mention one to show that there are two sides to the 
fishing business. But there are other things that the fisher- 
men have to contend with besides gales, storms, and a 
scarcity of fish. One of these is the shark, which I men- 
tion below. 

It is the custom of the fishermen, when at anchor on the 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 67 

fishing ground, to set their nets at sundown, from the stern 
of their vessel, for bait. These nets are hauled at mid- 
night, the herring taken out, and set again. And many 
times from one to three sharks are caught entangled in the 
nets. They wind themselves up so completely that it often 
takes hours to clear them, and in the struggles to get 
free, the net is sometimes spoilt for present use. This is 
certainly aggravating, and I am informed that the fishermen 
do not always use mild language on these occasions. A 
story is told of a fisherman who was at work clearing the 
sharks from his nets as a schooner came near, the captain 
of which asked him how Petit Menan bore. The answer 
he gave showed that Petit Menan was far from his mind; 
and for a sequel to the story, I refer my readers to some 
of the Pool fishermen, who will give them the facts in the 
case. 

Trawling, which is the general mode of taking fish at 
present, was brought into operation at the Pool in 1857 in 
a very small way at first. A man with a large cheese-box 
under his arm was seen going on board his vessel. This 
was the first intimation that anything different from the old 
method of hand-lining was going to facilitate the catch- 
ing of fish, and since the days of the old cheese-box, 
with its hundred hooks, trawling has increased wonderfully, 
which I have shown to my readers in the conversation with 
the old fisherman. 

Boston, Gloucester, Rockport, Pigeon Cove, Newbury- 
port, Portsmouth, Cape Porpoise, Portland and the Pool, 
are the markets where the fishermen have sold their fish. 
Previous to i860 the fish were salted and dried for market: 
but since that time nearly all the fish caught are sold fresh 
or in pickle. 

Mr. Duncan Burnett is at present engaged in the fish 
business at the Pool. He has been established there a 
number of years, buying fish, lobsters, and anything in the 
fish fine the fishermen have to sell. 



68 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

I find that most of our fishermen, all along our great 
extent of sea-coast, take great pride in studying the habits 
of the numerous kinds of fish and animals that inhabit the 
great deep. 

Scientists, aided by government, have done much to 
develop the resources of the ocean. Prof. Baird has had 
his drag-net down to the bottom of the sea all along our 
coast. He has brought to the surface hundreds of different 
specimens of fish and animals, and nearly every da}' some- 
thing new is dragged to light from beneath the sea. But 
we must not forget that to the fishermen we owe much for 
this branch of service. For, while in the pursuit of their 
business for a livelihood, new fishing grounds are discovered 
by them, and they seldom make a trip without bringing in 
something new and interesting. And if they are not able 
to give to all the fish they catch their right classification, 
they are constantly finding new species in places where the 
dredging net has not been. 

A FISHING EPISODE. 

It is a delightful morning and everything in nature seems 
to combine to make mankind happy. The sky is clear, 
with not a cloud to be seen, and what little air is stirring 
is pure and bracing. It is such a morning as one can 
enjoy, away from the city, with its heat, smoke, turmoil 
and busy cares, by the side of old ocean, where there is 
nothing to mar his pleasure, but much to make him cheer- 
ful and glad. The Atlantic ocean lies before us with 
scarcely a ripple upon its bosom. As our eyes stretch far 
out across its waters, hundreds of white sails can be seen, 
that dot this "mighty sea." 

I had just seated myself under my awning, drinking in 
these pure draughts from nature, and thinking what I 
should busy myself about for the day, when the voice of 
the captain awoke me from my reverie, with his morning 
salutation, asking what plans I had in view. 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 6g 

Fishing in shore had been rather dull for a few days, 
bait was very scarce, and as my stay at the Pool was 
drawing to a close, I wanted to have one more good fish- 
ing trip before I packed my trunks. i\fter consulting with 
the captain, I concluded to take a run down to Richmond's 
Island (nine miles distant), stop there over night, get bait 
in the morning, and start early for the fishing ground. 

With everything ready to enjoy a good night's rest on 
board the Jennie B., we set sail at ii, a. m., shaping our 
course for the fishing ground, with the intention of spend- 
ing an hour or two trying for lish. The wind was fair 
and light, just enough to keep our "main boom out," as 
the old sailors say, while not a ripple was to be seen as 
far as the eye could reach. I wonder if any of my readers 
have ever enjoyed such a day as this, on the ocean. If 
they never have, I wish I could describe to them the 
delights and pleasures of this hour, out upon the blue sea, 
surrounded by one vast waste of water, which seems like 
a sheet of glass, extending far beyond the gaze, the sun 
out of a cloudless sky sending its rays like streaks of 
gold across this boundless main, while all around us on 
every hand can be seen 

" Ships, sailing to and fro 
Like birds upon their flight, 
So silently they go." 

At 2, P. M., we were out nine miles from land, and there 
fell a great calm upon the face of the deep, and zee were 
in that calm. " As the tired bairn nestles to its mother's 
breast," so rested our gallant craft upon the bosom of the 
great waters. Those who love only the busy, bustling 
pleasures of the town, would have found no enjoyment here; 
but to me, the grandeur of this hour far surpassed the gay 
and festive scenes of life. Not a sound could be heard 
save the notes of the sea gulls as they winged their wav, 
hither and thither, in quest of food. Now and then some 
monster of the deep would leave his waterv home below 



70 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

and come to the surface, and we just got a glimpse of 
these wanderers of the sea. It was now 5, p. m. The breeze 
was springing up, and the captain said we must shape our 
course for our destined port if we would reach it before 
night. Fishing was out of question with us at that time, 
although we could see several small craft that seemed to 
be trying for sword-fish. But we must up and away, and 
with a good breeze, we were on our course for the island 
Just as the sun was sinking below the western sky we 
rounded to and anchored in Richmond's Island harbor. 

At midnight I awoke from a refreshing sleep, and my 
ear caught the sound of wind whistling through the rig- 
ging. I went on deck and found the captain there. I 
asked him what he thought the weather would be. " Well, 
it don't look very pleasant now," he replied, " but it may 
clear up by morning. I think," he continued, " we had bet- 
ter take another nap." At this suggestion we went below 
and turned in. 

When the first dawn of light broke in the east, rending 
in twain the curtain that night had drawn across the earth, 
I heard the voice of the captain, calling "All hands ahoy!" 
This was quickly responded to b}^ all hands mustering on 
deck, to take a survey of the situation, which, in the main 
(or on the main, I should say), was not very inviting. The 
wind had shifted to the east during the night, and was blowing 
quite a gale. The sea, which but a few hours ago was so still 
and smooth, had been stirred to its depths by the breeze, and 
wave upon wave came rolling on shore. Dark, sombre clouds 
were driven across the western sky by the fury of the 
blast, and, altogether, the scene was not inspiring. 

" Well, captain," said I, " what do you think of the pros- 
pect for a day's fishing?" 

"Can't exactly tell, just now," remarked the skipper; 
"think we had better wait till the sun gets up, and then 
we can make up our minds what to do. We are all right 
here, and there will be nothing lost by waiting," 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 7/ 

This suggestion of the captain I readily assented to, and 
as the bracing air of the ocean had sharpened my appetite, 
I thought it would be a good plan to drop a line to the 
tinny tribe below to see if they were willing to subscribe to 
my wants. Dropping over a well-baited hook, I soon had 
the pleasure of landing on deck a couple dozen of fine 
perch. 

The captain had sent a boat ashore for the bait which we 
had engaged the night before. While we were waiting for 
the return of the boat, a fire was built, the perch were 
cleaned, and things looked fair for a good, hearty breakfast. 
The boat returned with plenty of bait, and we were all 
right in that direction. At 8, a. m., the sun, which had 
been struggling all the morning to break through the 
clouds, had so far succeeded, that its rays could be seen 
and felt for miles around. The wind, that came in such 
fearful gusts at daylight, had decreased very much, and 
the aspect of the sea had changed since early dawn. Just 
at this time our cook came on deck and invited us below 
to partake of the morning meal that he had prepared for 
us, and vou may be sure we were not backward in accept- 
ing the invitation. Nice fried perch, that were swimming 
in the water one hour ago, and steaming hot potatoes, 
greeted our eyes. With these, and edibles of various kinds, 
we soon satisfied the wants of the inner man. After break- 
fast we gathered on deck to hold a consultation, and came 
to this conclusion: We would get under weigh, put to sea, 
and if we found it too rough, bear up for the Pool; if the 
weather moderated, we would go to the fishing ground. At 
9, A. M., we got ready, and left the harbor with all its 
pleasant associations behind. 

We sailed quite a distance without anything being said, 
and all the time it was " roUy-poUy " with us, with con- 
siderable pitch-motion also, when I broke silence, remark- 
ing: "Well, captain, this looks very much as though we 
were headed for Tanto " — fifteen miles awa}'. The cap- 



■J2 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

tain, with a smile upon his face, replied, " We are going to 
have a good day overhead, but the sea will be rough; if 
you think you can stand it, why Tanto it is." Said I, 
"Stand it, why yes, if you think it is prudent to go." 
" Well," said the captain, " it is just like this : I have been 
watching the wind since we started, and I am confident 
that we shall have it to the southward in the afternoon. 
We can anchor on Tanto, fish a few hours, and have a 
fair wind home, but you must prepare yourself for a rough 
time, as far as lying at anchor is concerned." 

The sun was out, and it was very pleasant. We 
bounded gracefully over the waves, which were now as 
" swelly " as they could be, as the wind, which had been 
north-east, was now veering to the eastward on its circuit, 
and getting lighter. At eleven o'clock we rounded to, with 
Cape Elizabeth bearing due north, and Tanto hill over the 
high ground of Biddeford. This told the story that we 
were upon the shoal ground. We dropped our anchor in 
thirty-eight fathoms of water and gave the boat the whole 
scope of our hawser — seven hundred and twenty feet — so 
that the pitching motion might be somewhat relieved, as it 
was; the boat occasionally putting her bowsprit under, but, 
on the whole, rode out the sea very satisfactorily. 

We commenced to fish, and found that we had dropped 
our anchor on the right spot, for almost immediately the 
cod and pollock began to bite. The roughness of the sea 
was now a secondary matter, as the mind was occupied in 
a different direction; for already number one was in the 
tub in the shape of a twenty-five pound cod-fish, followed 
by two or three fine pollock of twenty pounds each. It 
was not a great while before the tub was full of fine fish 
— five hundred pounds — and not a fish of less weight than 
six pounds. We were pulling, baiting, hauling fish — los- 
ing some, of course, badly hooked — and occasionally killing 
a dog-fish on the rail, when all of a sudden the skipper 
said: '•■I guess I have got business to attend to, for 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. yj 

this one pulls like a shark." No sooner said than all five 
of the lines were called into action, each one with a supposed 
representative of the fish family upon the end. When the 
tish was nearly to the top of the water, the skipper said, 
"let him come up on my side of the boat;" and, slack- 
ening on the lines, a few minutes revealed a blue dog- 
shark, weighing about one hundred pounds. After getting 
upon the captain's hook the fish, in his circuitous route, 
had wound up all the lines, and got tangled in such a 
manner that he came up tail first, and was held by that 
appendage till the lines could be stripped off and the fish 
knifed. There was hardly a square inch upon the shark's 
body, that was free from a cod-line. The shark bit off the 
liook that had caught him, but not until he had wound him- 
self round with the other lines. It was the work of half 
an hour to get the lines in condition to resume fishing. 

Bv this time, the dog-fish becoming numerous and vora- 
cious, it was impossible to get a bait to the bottom. The 
fact that our bait was rather soft, enabled the dog-fish to 
greatly increase their ravages. More than once the captain 
remarked, " Oh, if we onh' had a bushel of hard mackerel we 
would show you some large cod-fish; they are there, but the 
dofj-fish steal the soft bait before it can reach the bottom." 
We had a fezv hard mackerel, and whenever either of the 
hooks were baited with that, a good cod or pollock was 
bounced upon the deck, verifying the captain's opinion. 

We had no fault to find with the day's fishing, as we 
had indeed been busy from the time the anchor was drop- 
ped over the side till four o'clock, p. m. 

We were some time in getting the anchor up, as the sea 
continued pretty rough, with the wind blowing strong from 
the southward. After heading our little craft homeward 
we found time to indulije in a heartv meal. The daA- 
had been reallv better than we reasonably could have 
expected from the morning outlook, and although the con- 
trast was so great, compared with the day previous, yet. 



74 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

looking at the matter in the right light, it was a splendid 
experience, and long to be remembered as a " red letter 
day " in my reminiscences of Biddeford Pool. 

MACKEREL. 

One of the principal industries at the Pool is mackerel 
fishing. The mackerel familiy includes, besides the com- 
mn variety, the bonito and its allied forces, the tunny, the 
pilot-fish, and the sword-fish. The common European 
mackerel is well known for its beauty and brilliant colors, 
and the elegance of its form; its scales are very small, 
delicate and smooth. According to good authority it per- 
forms migrations almost as extensive as the herring. It 
probably inhabits almost every part of the European seas. 
It comes into shallow water at particular seasons to breed. 
Were it not for these periodical visits, no effective fishery 
could be carried on. It is caui»:ht in the waters of Great 
Britain from March to June. In winter mackerel retire to deep 
water, though a few are taken on the Cornish coast the 
3^ear round. They are very voracious, feeding principally 
on the fry of other fish, and often devour the young 
of their own species. They grow rapidly and attain an 
average length, in some waters, of fifteen inches and in 
weight two pounds, though some considerably exceed this. 
On our own coasts they are smaller. They are considered 
best here, in July and August, rather than earlier or later in 
the season. 

The mackerel season is a very busy and profitable one 
on the British coast. They are taken in large quantities 
by drift-nets, reaching about twenty feet below the surface, 
and extending more than a mile. These nets are set in 
the evening, and the fish, roaming at night, are caught in 
the meshes. 

Mackerel are found from Greenland to the Mediterra- 
nean; in the Black sea, and sea of Azor; in waters of 
Australia, Cape Good Hope, the North Atlantic and Ameri- 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 7j 

can coasts. Mackerel are also found in large quantities off 
the west coast of South America, but their quality is infe- 
rior to those caught off our northern shores. They are not 
as fat and their flavor is less agreeable, having a bitter 
taste, caused, as some think, by the coppery nature of the 
bottom. They are rarely eaten, and, therefore, do not form 
an object for fishing. Mackerel fishing is carried on to a 
considerable extent on the coast of Norwa3\ The season 
is short, but quite a business is done shipping fresh mack- 
erel to England and other countries. In 1878 Capt. Mark- 
son, in the schooner Notice, of Gloucester, made a mack- 
erel seining trip off the coast of Norway, but met with 
poor success. 

The common mackerel of our coast make their appear- 
ance about the first of April, on the southern shore near 
Cape Hatteras. Where they pass the winter months it is 
hard to conjecture. 

In conversation with an old philosopher, who has been 
engaged in the mackerel fishery for nearly half a century, 
and has made this subject a study, he gave me his opinion 
founded on a thorough investigation of the matter. The 
theory of the old philosopher in regard to the habits of 
these fish, is this: When the mackerel leave the northern 
waters, the}^ make their way south, keeping to the west- 
ward of the Gulf Stream until they strike the coasts of 
North and South Carolina, where they find a temperature 
and depth of water suited to their wants. Here they 
remain in a dormant state, keeping well below the surface, 
and thus avoid the heavy storms of winter that sweep 
across the southern shores. That this theory is correct 
I am not able to say. One or two facts in connection 
help to sustain it. One is, that when these fish leave for 
their southern home they are fat: but when first caught 
in spring they are very poor. This shows the absence of 
food, or a legarthic state of the fish that does not require 
food. The other is, that they are fiardh' ever seen south 



jb GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

of the 3 2d degree of latitude. When mackerel tirst appear 
on the southern coast, they take different routes on their 
journey to the waters of Maine and the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence. The in-shore schools (so called by the fishermen) 
keep near the shore and make their way northward as far 
as New Jersey. From this point they take a turn easterly, 
and seem to pursure a direct course to Block Island and 
Noman's Land. Some of these schools pass through Vine- 
yard Sound, some through Muskeget Channel, but the 
greater part make their way outside Nantucket, cross over 
to Cape Cod, and arrive in Massachusetts Bay about the 
first of May. Here they remain for a few weeks and then 
continue their journey to the coast of Maine. Some of 
these schools keep very near the land, and are taken at 
different points, as they pass along, by the fishermen. The 
other schools take a wider range off the shore. 

It is generally admitted that the spawning season com- 
mences, with these fish, near the first of May. This is 
undoubtedly true, and it accounts for the slow progress 
they make in journeying from Cape Cod to Mt. Desert. 
While the in-shore schools follow the coast line from Hat- 
teras to the waters of Maine, the off-shore schools make 
the journey east by a more direct route. They seem to 
follow near the western edge of the Gulf Stream until they 
reach Georges Bank, and then strike across to Cape Sable, 
where they arrive about the same time that the in-shore 
schools reach Massachusetts Bay. Some of these schools 
work their way up the western shore of Cape Sable, as 
far as St. Mary's Bay, but the most of them continue 
their journey east to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A few of 
them, however, go no farther east than Georges Bank, but 
remain in that vicinity until their return South. After 
arriving in the waters of Maine and Gulf of St. Lawrence 
they remain until September, when they again take their 
journey for the southern coasts, following the course by 
which they came. The most of them disappear by the lat- 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. -jj 

ter part of October, but a few are caught at Cape Cod, 
as late as the 25th of November. 

Those who are w^ell informed in regard to the habits of 
these hsh, tell us that it is not absolutely necessary for 
mackerel to come into shallow water to deposit their spawn, 
and that propagation is equally successful from one to a 
hundred miles from shore. This, no doubt, is correct, for 
we must bear in mind that the breeding season does not 
come to all mackerel at the same time; and the same laws 
that govern the spawning instinct, provide also for them a 
proper place to generate, whether it be in the harbors and 
bays, or in mid-ocean. 

Modes of capture. — The different methods of taking 
mackerel are by seine, weirs, hook, drag and set-nets. 
The seine, which is universally used by the fishermen, 
is constructed upon the same plan, in the main, as the 
herring net. It is from three hundred to five hundred 
feet long, and from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty 
feet in depth. This is weighted at the bottom with lead, 
that it may sink very quickly; to the top, floats of cork are 
attached to keep this part on the surface of the water. 
When a school of mackerel is seen, the crew jump into 
the seine boat, in which the seine has previously been put, 
and man the oars, while the captain takes the steering oar 
and directs the movements of the boat. Two of the stout- 
est are detailed to throw the seine over at the command of 
the skipper. 

Mackerel, as I have before stated, come to the surface 
of the water in schools, and when they get into the right 
position, which the skipper with his knowledge of the busi- 
ness can readily tell, the command to " Pull away, boys ! " 
is given, and is responded to with a wall by the crew. At 
a word from the captain, the work of throwing the seine 
commences, and the boat is directed in such a manner, 
that a complete circle is made around the fish. When the 
seine is all out of the boat, the crew lay hold of the purse 



7<? GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

lines which run along the bottom of the seine, and, quicker 
than I can tell it, the bottom of the seine is drawn together, 
and the fish are impounded. If the fishermen are success- 
ful in capturing the school, the vessel is brought up, and 
made fast to the seine, and the work of taking care of the 
fish commences. This is done by the use of dip-nets, that 
are put down into the seine, and filled with fish, then 
hoisted on board with a tackle. If they are to be sold fresh, 
they are put in the hold of the vessel with plenty of ice to 
keep them until they are carried to market. If not sold 
fresh, they are split, salted, and packed in barrels. 

Another mode of capture is by the use of drag-nets. 
These are set from the vessel, and many good hauls are 
obtained. One great hindrance to drag-net fishing is dog- 
fish and sharks, and they always make their appearance 
just at the time that the fishermen do not wish to see 
them. Great quantities of mackerel are taken in fish weirs 
that are constructed all along the coast, in different places, 
from Block Island to Nova Scotia. The old method of 
taking mackerel with line and jig, or hooking, as it is 
called, was carried on for half a century with great success. 
But since seines, drag-nets, and fish weirs have come into 
general use, hand-lining has not been a paying business. 
Upwards of five hundred vessels and boats are engaged, 
during the mackerel season, in taking these fish, and from 
the time that they appear on the southern coast, until they 
disappear for winter quarters, they are constantly sought 
after by the fishermen, both day and night. When we 
take into consideration the vast amount of nets, seines and 
weirs used for their capture, and the big fish that pursue 
them for food, we almost wonder that they are not totally 
destroyed; but, with all this array against them, the}^ seem 
to increase from year to year. Many instances of big trips 
might be related, but I have neither the time nor space 
to give them. That my readers may have an idea of the 
quantity taken during the season, I will state that the catch 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. jg 

at Gloucester for the year 1881, was 163,851 barrels; of 
this number, 50,548 barrels were sold fresh. 

Mackerel fishing at Biddeford Pool. — This fishing 
has not been a paying business for the Pool fishermen for 
a number of years, which is owing to the absence of these 
fish from the shoals and places they formerly frequented. 
The use of seines has, no doubt, been the means of break- 
ing up the shore schools, and driving them from their 
favorite feeding grounds. The time has been, within the 
writer's remembrance, when the Pool fishermen were very 
successful in this branch of industry, and many skippers, 
from Newburyport and other places, have taken their fares 
from the shoals and ledges around Wood Island and vicin- 
ity. Fishing from dories, with line and jig, was the usual 
method of taking the fish, for in this way the fishermen 
could easily shift from one shoal to another. There is 
probably no fishing that gives so much pleasure to the 
fisher, be he an adept or novice in the art, as catching 
mackerel when they bite well. A few instances can be 
given showing the enthusiasm of those who have partici- 
pated in the sport. Two gentlemen, visitors at the Pool, 
one an orthodox clergyman, went out, with one of the Pool 
skippers, to try their skill in capturing a few of the finny 
tribe. They succeeded in getting on the right spot, and in 
a short time had a school of mackerel alongside the boat — 
a very good biting one. They were delighted at the good 
luck they were having, for the fish came in over the side 
of the boat in fine style. The skipper related some expe- 
riences of his own, where he had been fishing with a large 
crew, and the mackerel were biting so savagely that, with 
pulling, hauling and slatting them off, they seemed to liter- 
ally rain on deck. Just at this moment the clerical gentle- 
man had a few good bites, and, bringing his victims on 
deck, remarked that he should call this a ver}- good 
sprinkling. 

The season of '82 was not a favorable one, among the Pool 



8o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

fishermen, for taking mackerel. The fish did not make their 
appearance there, in any great numbers, until the first of 
September, though a few were caught previous to this, by 
Capt. W. W. Rich, with the seine. The absence of these 
fish from the coast, explains, no doubt, the scarcity of 
sword-fish in the waters they frequently inhabit. 

In addition to the mention of mackerel fishing in a gen- 
eral way, I have the pleasure to present to my readers an 
account of this industry during the season just passed, 
1885. Although the general catch along the coast has 
been less than on previous years, yet the scenes at differ- 
ent points have been very interesting to the looker-on. 
During the month of August, or really the latter part of 
the month, over two hundred sail of the mackerel fleet 
could be seen daily from our snug little seashore place, 
Biddeford Pool, and frequently as many as one hundred 
vessels would quarter for the night in the harbor. One 
scene in particular must have been very interesting to the 
people at the Pool and at Old Orchard, for during the 
whole of one week from seventy-five to one hundred sail 
of seiners were stretched along the shore from Biddeford 
Pool to Richmond's Island, and many in close proximity to 
the large hotels at Old Orchard Beach. Many of the ves- 
sels got good hauls of numbers one and two mackerel, 
though on account of the depth of the water, it being shal- 
low, many seines were damaged in hauling them. Fine 
schools of large mackerel were taken just outside of Wood 
Island. The schools were small, (say ten to twenty bar- 
rels each), but the fish very large and fat. It was my 
pleasure, when out one day cod-fishing, to witness the 
operation of throwing a net, and I found my written 
statements verified in every particular in regard to the 
throwing of a net and the capture of the fish. After the 
vessel got alongside of the net, I went on board and saw 
the plan of dipping the fish from the net on to the deck 
of the vessel. Although a small school, they were the fin- 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 8i 

est, largest, and fattest mackerel my eye ever beheld, in 
number about ten barrels. When we were returning that 
day, Albert, who always had a keen eye to windward and 
elsewhere, said to me, " Do you see that fore staysail 
schooner off Cape Elizabeth?" "Yes," I replied, "I see 
several vessels, but I can hardly make out the fore stay- 
sail one." "Well, I can, and that is the Joseph Warren; 
I have been watching her for some minutes. She has 
shot her seine, and now it is alongside of the vessel, and 
they are dipping out the mackerel. Now remember the 
day and the hour, and see if I haven't got pretty good 
eyesight; if she didn't take in a school of mackerel at 
such a time." The Joseph Warren is the schooner spoken 
of in the introduction as having been recently added to the 
Biddeford Pool fleet. Subsequently, I found the statement 
about the Joseph Warren to be correct, and we will give 
Albert the credit of good sight and a clear head. 

And now for a little description of catching mackerel 
with the hook. We had the best fishing with the hook, in 
the harbor and around the ledges off East and South 
Points, that has been known for twenty years. One morn- 
ing early no less than twenty-five small boats, all belong- 
ing to the Pool, were seen engaged in the lively sport of 
catching mackerel, and all the boats, before 7 o'clock in 
the morning, had from one barrel to three barrels each. 
For at least a fortnight, the last of August, large mackerel 
were very plenty and readily taken by the hook. 

I had the pleasure, during the summer, of taking out 
several visitors who desired to be made acquainted with 
mackerel catching, and one occasion, "childrens' day," 
afforded a rare treat for as noisy a set of juveniles as 
ever were afloat. And it was a rare treat, also, to lookers 
on. My little boy, Joe, was the leader of them all in boy- 
ish pranks. He was like Ariel, every where in the vessel 
at once, and engaged in all sorts of mischief, tending to 
show the deep interest in nautical matters of a navigator 



82 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

not six years old. A school of mackerel was reached, and 
the boat was crowded by the school of fish, that almost 
forced themselves on board. Everybody threw their lines 
over and the mackerel were sharp to bite. Little Joe was 
in rare spirits, and betrayed the greatest excitement as he 
saw the air full of them as they were thrown on deck 
from the sea. When fortune first favored him with a bite, 
and he drew in a handsome lish, that was wriggling on 
his hook, he didn't know what to do. "Capt. Frank," he 
cried, in a voice of most ecstatic thrill, " how shall I undo 
him?" The captain showed him that the hook was but 
just fastened to the lip of the fish, and that, by holding the 
line firm and giving the fish a slap upon the deck, it would 
tear out. The little fellow put it in practice, and was as 
expert as any body in the " undoing " of them. This was 
to him rather the best part of the sport, and he was ready 
to stand, and " undo " all that were caught. With regard 
to such schools, or shoals, when they are very large and 
crowd around the vessel, the water is so thick with them, 
that it seems possible for one to step out and walk along 
on their backs. 

The sport of catching mackerel with the hook has been 
so often described that we need not enter into particulars 
in regard to it. When they could not be caught on a drift 
by using toll bait, they were readily taken by what is 
termed trailing, or trolling, and it was very enlivening for 
people on the shore to see the small sail boats pass hither 
and thither with from one to three or four lines over the 
stern of the boats, and all engaged in drawing in the fish. 
Much more might be said in regard to the mackerel fish- 
ing of '85, but what has been introduced may give the 
landsman an idea of this industry at this point upon our 
coast, and of the sport it gives to the pleasure seeker. 

One peculiarity of the mackerel school is that the fish 
move in a circle, which renders them a more easy prey to 
seiners. 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 83 

STRIPED SEA BASS. 
From the capes of Delaware — where it is known as the 
Rock-fish — ^to the farthest coast of Maine, the sea bass is 
an object of interest to piscators and epicures. Though 
nominally a sea fish, it has a home in the rivers, where, 
like the salmon, whi(ih it resembles, somewhat, in habits, it 
comes to spawn and is mostly captured there, but it is 
familiar to the Pool and is often caught by the fishermen. 
It is a voracious fish, with an ever active appetite, and 
objects to no form of bait, though the herring is its espe- 
cial favorite. It will bite readily at the fly, is attracted by 
gaudy or brilliant colors, and a silver spoon or a metal 
squid often leads to its capture through its fatal want of 
discrimination. These fish attain a great size, and it 
requires firmness, strength and tact to take them, as they 
are next to the salmon for activity and power, and it 
requires an expert to land them handsomely. They must 
be held every instant in hand when on the line, to relax 
which for a moment is to give them an advantage that 
they will improve to free themselves from the hook. They 
are caught in rapid rivers and the swash along shallow 
shores, often by hook, thrown off from the shore, but more 
by trolling with the tide, or in a boat along outside the 
surf. Frank Forrester, who takes the lazy Waltonish view 
of fishing, and favors dawdling more than working, don't 
take much to bass-fishing because it hurts the hands to 
wrestle with them, in the close hand-over-hand effort to pull 
them in; but the true sportsman delights in this, where 
the noble fish means business and struggles for its life, and 
does not surrender, an easy victim, to his captors. In color 
the striped sea bass is bluish brown above and silverv on 
the sides and beneath, with generally from seven to nine 
equi-distant parallel stripes, the upper series terminating at 
the, base of the caudal, and the lower above the anal, fin. 
The body is cylindrical and tapering, the head and bodv 
covered with large adhesive scales, with a gluev exudation 



84 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

from the skin that renders it difficult to clean, if allowed to 
dry. The head is bluntly pointed, eyes large, nostrils 
double, quill-openings large, lower jaw the longer, teeth 
numerous on the maxillaries, palatine bone and tongue. It 
is one of the most beautiful fish of all our home varieties, 
and as an article of food it is delicious, the flesh being very 
firm, white and well flavored. The head is regarded as 
an especial delicacy by Cape Cod epicures. 

It is said that striped bass have been caught weighing 
one hundred pounds, which recalls the incident where an 
immense weight had been claimed for a fish, when one lis- 
tener brought his hand violently upon his knee, exclaiming: 
"What a whopper!" "Do you doubt my word, sir?" said 
the narrator, severely. " Oh, by no means, " was the reply ; 
" I meant what a whopper of a fish. " But the hundred 
pound fish, though exceptional, may not have been impossi- 
ble. They have been caught in the vicinity of the Pool 
weighing seventy pounds, and the Piscataqua river — whose 
deep, cool, and rapid tide is a favorite resort for them — 
has furnished many big fish for the market, and many fish 
stories nearly, if not quite, up to this standard. A friend 
of the writer was fishing in the eddy of that stream, when 
a bass leaped out of the water within a couple of rods of 
him, that, estimating it by the splash it made, must have 
approached to the heftiest claim, if not exceeding it. But 
there is one story about the capture of a bass in the Pis- 
cataqua, that an old farmer residing on its banks used to 
tell, and which was true, of which he was the hero. On 
the morning of a rainy day he was at the fish-market, in 
Portsmouth, and one of the fishermen gave him a bright 
new herring which he threw into his wagon and went 
home. In his stable, hanging up, was an old cod-line that 
had hung there for years since his purchase of the place, 
and how long before the memory of man knew not. As 
the day was too bad for farming, he took down the line, 
with its rusty hook, and started for a ruined bridge that 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 85 

crossed the stream to an island, that had formed one half 
of the public way, now discontinued, the other half entirely 
gone. A bare foot way was left over the crumbly planks, 
and stepping upon the ruin, he threw over his line baited 
with the new herring, and let it drift away with the rapid 
tide. He watched it as it disappeared in the distance, turn- 
ing over and over, and gave himself up to the fisherman's 
hope, when something seized the bait with a show of great 
excitement. The water was lashed to a foam, and the line 
whizzed through his unaccustomed hands, burning them by 
its rapidity. Before it was all run out the speed slackened, 
and the farmer began to pull in, with great difficulty, — for 
the fish was a large one — -at the same time moving along 
the shaky path towards the little island, leading his victim 
to its doom. He drew it close to the shore, till he could 
see its magnitude, and then he wondered how he could 
secure his prey, as the distance from the old bridge to the 
shore below was some ten feet. He secured his line to 
the railing and then, climbing down, he went into the 
water and grappled with the monster fish, stunning it by a 
blow on the head with a stone and dragging it ashore, 
where it now lay at his mercy. He climbed back again 
and attempted to lift the fish with the line, but the line 
broke. Then, doubling the line several times, he wound it 
around the fish and succeeded in raising it to the bridge, 
from which he dragged it home in triumph. It was a beau- 
tiful deep sea striped bass, and weighed fifty-two pounds, 
which he sold to the very one who gave him the herring. 

The bass are not disposed to cold and stormy weather, 
but when the winter comes they take to the estuaries of 
deep rivers, and imbed themselves in the mud, where they 
remain until spring, protected by the roots of water bushes, 
near the banks, thus avoiding the violence of the season. 
They spawn in the spring, and until far into the summer 
are very active near their spawning places. Where the riv- 
ers are deep and cool they are very plenty. 



86 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Though not enough are caught at the Pool to warrant 
its being called one of its industries, enough are taken to 
render it profitable, as bass always command a good price 
in the market. 

HERRING. 
We strike a wide field, for " the name is legion," and 
we will not attempt to go very deep into this subject, lest 
we get beyond our depth; but will keep in shallow water, 
where we can touch bottom at any moment. 

The herring is found in Europe, from Spitzbergen to the 
west coast of France, and is caught in large numbers on 
the coast of Scandinavia, Great Britain, Ireland, Holland 
and France. They do not ascend rivers, as the alewive 
and shad do. 

The food of the herring appears to be, chiefly, minute 
Crustacea and worms, and sometimes its own fry and other 
small fish. In all those places where herring are found in 
large quantities, and where people have become rich 
through these fisheries, the number caught has at times been 
exceedingly small, and for long periods the herring have 
disappeared entirely. This has not only been the case on 
the Scandinavian coast, but also on the coasts of Scotland, 
Ireland and France; and people have been reduced to want, 
in consequence of the failure of the fisheries. The absence 
of herring from these places on particular years, has not 
been accounted for, satisfactorily. Various reasons have 
been given, but no suppositions, however ingenious, can explain 
the periodicity of the great herring fisheries; for these fish- 
eries have come to an end, not from lack of herring, but 
because the herring left those regions where they had been 
accustomed to come, and from what information we have 
been able to get on this subject, we have come to the con- 
clusion that the number of herring has not decreased in the 
least, but the same power that creates, gives to these fish 
an instinct (?) to determine the temperature of the water 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 87 

and air, and a proper time and place to bring forth their 
young, whether it be in those places formerly frequented by 
them, or in regions more remote. 

Herring fishing has been carried on from time immemor- 
ial. That in American waters dates back to the days of the 
Pilgrim fathers. We have accounts of this fishery being 
prosecuted in Great Britain, in the eighth century; that of 
France, three hundred years later. The first record of her- 
ring being caught on the Scandinavian coast, dates back to 
the tenth century. It would be impossible, in this little 
sketch, to give the great extent to which this fishery has 
been carried on for the last eight or ten centuries. To 
show how important this branch of industry was to the 
people of the old countries, and the superstition that existed 
in regard to the absence of these fish from the coasts, on 
particular years, I will give from a law book that was 
issued in 1589, an extract, which reads thus: 

" As all good gifts come from Almighty God and His Divine Majesty, thus 
our Kingdom of Norway has richly experienced His favors, its inhabitants, as 
well as others, having been blessed with successful herring fisheries. But 
since there is danger that God may withdraw His blessings, on account of the 
great sins and vices of the inhabitants of the coast, our tax-gatherers, each one 
in his district, shall see to it that people in the fishing stations lead good and 
Christain lives; that there is preaching every Sunday, and people are exhorted 
to lead a Godly life, so that God may be moved, by the prayers of good Chris- 
tians, to extend His blessings to us, also, in the future." 

An ancient writer has said that the herring is one of 
those natural productions, whose use has decided the des- 
tiny of nations. Caprice and luxury render valuable coffee, 
tea, spices and silks, but necessity demands the herring of 
the northern ocean. 

That my readers may have some idea of the number 
caught in years past, I will state, that on the Swedish 
coast of the Baltic, 150,000 tons were taken in 1873. The 
product of the herring fisheries of Great Britain, in 1855, 
was 897,463 barrels. With these, and the enormous quan- 
tities caught on other European coasts, and on this side of 
the Atlantic, we can get some conception of the produc- 



88 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

tiveness of this fishery. To carry on this business, thous- 
ands of vessels and boats, and more than two hundred 
thousand men, women and children are engaged. 

The time for spawning is various, as we have the spring, 
summer, and fall herring. With regard to the nature of 
the spawning bottoms we generally find mentioned rocky 
or stony bottoms, sand bottoms, bottoms overgrown with 
algge or other aquatic plants, whilst it is generally denied 
that herring can spawn on soft, muddy bottoms without any 
vegetation. Some authors assert, that herring spawn wher- 
ever they find suitable bottoms. Others, on the contrary, 
believe that the herring, by its instinct, chooses spawning 
places, which are not only suitable for hatching the eggs, 
but also for feeding and protecting the young fish. While 
it may be true that the herring prefers calm waters during 
spawning, and that rough waters and storms sometimes 
compel them to spawn some distance from the coast, yet I 
do know, from personal observation and experience, that 
herring will approach the coast and deposit their spawn 
within an eighth of a mile of the shore, and on the most 
exposed part of the coast, during the very severe gales of 
fall. I have known this to happen, when it was so rough 
and stormy that the fishermen could not get out to see 
their nets, and a great loss was occasioned thereby. It is a 
fact, that before the spawning commences, the herring, that 
have lived rather scattered, begin to gather in very large 
masses, and approach the coast in many instances, in schools, 
half a mile in length. It has also been observed that 
when the herring approach the spawning places the major- 
ity are female, while, at the end of their visit, the male pre- 
dominates. 

The common hereing of our waters visit different parts 
of the coast, from Cape Cod to Labrador, at various sea- 
sons of the year, for the purpose of spawning or feeding, 
and are abundant in some localities during a great part of 
the summer. In winter, herring are caught on the eastern 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 8g 

coast of Maine, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. In former 
years, the spring herring fisheries of the Magdalen Islands 
drew a large fleet to that region, but, from some cause, 
herring are not found there at present in any great quan- 
tities. 

At Labrador quite a business is done by catching herring 
in the fall months, and these are considered superior to any 
caught on this side of the Atlantic. The winter herring 
fisheries of the eastern coast of Maine, Nova Scotia and 
Newfoundland have been prosecuted with more or less suc- 
cess for a number of years. The fish caught at these 
places are frozen and shipped in bulk to Portland, Glouces- 
ter and Boston, and are used in large quantities by the 
winter fishermen, who depend entirely for a supply of fresh 
bait from this source. The bank fishermen, who start in 
early spring, are often compelled to go hundreds of miles 
out of their course to obtain bait. The spring herring gf 
our coast make their appearance, in the vicinity of Cape 
Cod, about the first of May. From what point they come 
is as great a puzzle as it is to tell where the mackerel go 
when they leave our shores. 

The arrival of herring, in spring, is awaited by the 
fishermen with great expectations; for a good school of 
cod-fish most generally follows, and the shore fishermen 
depend almost entirel}^ on these little visitors for a catch of 
cod-fish during the months of May and June. The traffic 
in salt herring is very great. They are sold by the fisher- 
men to buyers, who pack them in barrels, half and quarter 
barrels. They are shipped to every state in the Union, to 
the West Indies and other foreign ports. Quite an exten- 
sive business is done in smoking herring on the eastern 
coast of Maine and the British Provinces. Herring cured 
in this manner are packed in boxes and sent all over the 
world. There is a company at Eastport, Me., engaged in 
canning small herring in oil, that are an excellent substitute 
for imported sardines. 



go GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Herring fishing at biddeford pool. — There is no place 
on the coast of Maine or Massachusetts where the fall 
herring fishing is prosecuted with so much success as 
at the above named locality. While other localities have 
generally failed to yield a profitable supply to the fisher- 
men, the waters around Biddeford Pool have yielded in 
abundance. The herring " strike in " to that place, about 
the middle or last of September, for the purpose of 
spawning, and vessels, from almost every fishing port be- 
tween Cape Cod and Eastport, go there to participate in 
this fishing. 

It was my pleasure to re-visit the Pool in the fall of 
1882, to indulge for a week in the sport of cod-fishing. 
This fishing is made doubly sure by the presence of her- 
ring, which are used for bait. Arriving at the Pool late 
in the evening, I was forcibly struck by the appearance of 
the harbor; for small, weird lights in every direction, 
seemed to be dancing upon the waves. On inquiry I 
learned that a fleet of herring fishermen was lying at 
anchor in the harbor, and the lights seen were on board 
these vessels. The reader may be sure that I was up 
betimes the next morning, for I was anxious to get a 
glimpse of these vessels, and I found the crews all busily 
engaged preparing for the "strike." Some were mending 
nets, others were hanging nets to cork-ropes and lead lines, 
and others were fixing buoys, etc. Taken altogether it was 
a very busy time with them. The herrings are caught by 
the use of gill-nets. These nets are, on an average, one 
hundred and tweny-five feet long by twelve feet deep, and 
each vessel uses upwards of twenty to obtain a catch of 
herring. More than one thousand men are employed, and 
nearly five hundred dories or small boats are brought into 
requisition, during the fall " strike " of these fish at the 
Pool. When there is the least sign (the fishermen go by 
signs sometimes) of an approach of herring to the coast, 
and the weather will permit, the fishermen take their nets 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 9/ 

into the dories and row out, from a quarter of a mile to a 
mile from the shore, and set them. This is done, by the 
use of warps and small anchors or grapplings, which hold 
the nets in position, while to the nets buoys are attached, to 
keep them from sinking, and also to mark the spot where 
they are set. 

During the first week of my re-visit to the Pool it was 
very stormy and rough, and I had no opportunity to 
indulge in the pleasure of cod-fishing, but I had a fine 
chance to watch the herring fishermen, as they came in 
from their nets with their silvery freight, and though the 
sea was rough, and the tide ran strong, yet they were 
quite successful. Many times the nets get so filled with 
herring that they sink, and it is almost impossible to raise 
them; and sometimes they are raised, when sunk, by the 
united efforts of a whole vessel's crew, and by the use of 
dories and tackle. But when raised in this manner, the 
nets are often torn and rendered useless. 1 was told, by a 
fisherman, that forty barrels of herring had been taken 
from a single net. Many nets are lost by sinking to the 
bottom and are never seen again; some get adrift during 
a storm, and are driven to sea by the force of the wind 
and tide, or are cast upon the shore unfit for use. One of 
the Pool fishermen had two new nets set and went in the 
morning to take them up, but when he got to the place 
where he had set them, the night before, he could not find 
them. While his neighbors all around him were busy 
loading their dories with fish, he could only look on and 
wonder " why this was thusly." It was supposed that 
some of the nets were stolen, but, with the exception of 
one or two cases, the men appeared to be honorable and 
square in their dealings, though it would be pretty strange not 
to find some dishonest ones among a crowd of over a 
thousand men of different nationalities. 

Fish-buyers came from Portland, in large vessels, to buy 
Hsh of the fishermen who wished to sell them fresh; for 



g2 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

in this way the fishermen can often realize more than they 
could to salt them. One thing was noticeable, that, when 
there was a big "strike," and the fishermen were bothered 
to get salt to save their fish, the price was sure to go 
down. A large number of bank fishermen came, from 
Gloucester and other places, to get bait, and they were 
enabled, without much delay, to get all they needed. 

One of the Pool skippers, who had been rather unfort- 
unate in obtaining a suppl}^ for bait, concluded to run down 
outside Wood Island and set his nets from the stern of his 
vessel. This he did, and in the morning, when the nets were 
hauled, they yielded thirty-live barrels of herring. Just 
as they had become secured, a bank-fisherman came in and 
anchored, when the skipper went on board and sold 
the night's catch for seventy dollars, thus realizing a good 
profit for a night's work. 

The strike of herring at the Pool is a very short one. 
Many seasons it does not last more than two weeks, and I 
have been told that it has been much less, but, during the 
time of the strike, the Pool is one of the liveliest places on 
the coast. The fisherman is busy, for he believes in the 
old adage: "Make hay while the sun shines;" the store- 
keepers are active, for it is a time of harvest with them; 
the farmers find a ready sale for the products of their 
farms; the fish-buyers are on hand, ready to buy, and 
almost everyone belonging to the place is actively engaged 
for the time. During the day the fishermen are hard at 
work taking care of the fish, mending nets, or fixing gear, 
for there is no time that they cannot find something to do 
to forward the voyage. 

I had a good chance to study the characteristics of these 
hardy, rough looking sons of the sea, and I will say that I 
found them intelligent, sociable and polite, and I was much 
pleased with their general character, for I believe they are 
men who are willing to do as they would be done by. I 
asked a "Pooler," what they did with so many herring; 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 93 

"Oh, we trade 'em off, same as the boys do jackknives, 
first one gets 'em and then another," was the reply. 

As the weather had not been suitable for cod-fishing, I 
concluded to stop a few days longer, for I was unwilling 
to go home until I had tried my luck once more in deep 
sea fishing; and I was well paid for waiting. The sun, 
that had been hidden for a number of days, had broken 
through the clouds, and the cold, drizzly September storm 
was over. Monday morning came and it found me up 
bright and early. Capt. Frank had everything prepared in 
good shape for a day's enjoyment out upon the deep, and 
just as the sun was rising from its ocean-bed, we cast off 
from our mooring and filled away, down among the fleet of 
herring catchers, and bank fishermen, that were at anchor 
in the harbor. As we glided out beyond where the fleet 
lay, my eyes rested upon a sight that I shall never forget. 
There before us in the space of half a mile square, were 
some three hundred dories and small boats, each boat con- 
taining two or three men, all busily engaged picking their 
nets, and as they rose and fell on the long waves, the 
bright, autumnal sun shining down upon them, it gave to 
the picture a coloring that no artist could put upon canvas. 

After obtaining a supply of bait for our day's fishing, 
we continued on our course, passing dory after dory loaded 
to the water's edge with their silvery freight. With a fair 
breeze and flowing sail we shaped our course for " Tanto," 
hoping to be able to find a spot where we could have 
some good fishing. But as Burns has said, 

"The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men 
Gang aft agley." 

So we found it in our case, for after a two hours' sail, 
which, however, I enjoyed very much, we anchored on 
" Tanto," but our great hopes of a good catch of fish were 
not realized. After using as much of our time as we 
thought prudent in trying for fish, we got under way and 
ran in on to the " Peak," where we found Capt. Wm. M. 

13 



q^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Hussey, who had been very successful in taking a good 
fare of cod and pollock. We anchored the Jennie B., but 
as it was getting late in the day, and the fish were scarce, 
we concluded to return to the Pool, and try our luck 
another time. But the day's recreation was not lost to me. 
The morning sail, out among the shipping and dory fleet, 
with all its varied scenes, the ocean breeze and glorious 
day; these, together with the fine sail we had on our 
return, well repaid me for all the time and trouble taken. 

Tuesday morning we were up early for a new start to 
the fishing grounds, and, as we sailed down the harbor, 
nearly the same scenes met our gaze as on the previous 
morning. We got our supply of bait from the herring 
catchers, and lay our course for the "Peak," where we 
anchored, and had some very successful fishing. We 
returned to the Pool well satisfied with the day's sport, 
iDut determined to try it again on the morrow. Wednesday 
morning we were also up bright and early, and, as we 
cast loose from our mooring, and sailed out of the harbor, we 
noticed that a number of the fleet had got their fares 
and left for a market. We procured our supply of bait, 
but on inquiry, found that the herring were about leaving 
the coast. 

We shaped our course for the fishing ground, anchored, 
and, after a great deal of pulling, hauling and baiting, 
secured upward of five hundred pounds of fine cod and 
other fish. We got up our anchor, but the wind was 
ahead, and very fight, so we did not get in until after 
dark. That day's enjoyment wound up with one of the 
most interesting scenes that I ever witnessed. When we 
got into the mouth of the harbor it was very dark, and 
just as we were up with the ancored fleet, there came a 
very heavy squall from the north-east, which sent the Jen- 
nie B. " kiting " through the water. But Capt. Frank 
was equal to the emergency, and, taking the helm, the 
first order was, " Down foresail ! " This was done as 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. "gs 

quickly as said. All this time we were rapidly gaining on 
the forest of masts, and, for the life of me, I could see no 
opening through. Capt. Frank sent the best man forward 
to keep a good lookout and direct the course of our vessel. 
I stood b}^ watching with intense interest every move, and 
as we made our way among the thick shipping, the look- 
out forward sang out the orders which were repeated by 
the man at the helm, and, for fifteen or twenty minutes, it 
was: "Luff," "Keep off," "Steady," "Luff a little," 
" Hard up ! " " Hard up ! ! " " Steady," " Keep off a little," 
"Hard down" and "Steady," until we got to our mooring 
safe from all danger. This was quite an experience with 
me, and it reminded me of my younger daj^s, when I have 
seen the farmers hauling out wood, in winter, on an old 
logging sled, dodging around among the trees. 

Thursday morning I was up looking at the great comet 
long before it was light. The wind was very slight, and 
the sun was well up before we got away. As we made 
our way out of the harbor, my attention was called to the 
fact, that the great number of vessels, which were at 
anchor in the harbor the night before, had very much 
decreased, and only a few were left riding upon the placid 
tide. We were fortunate in obtaining a supply of bait, but 
we learned from one of the fishermen that the herring 
strike was over. 

It was nearly noon when we cast our anchor, but we 
had the satisfaction of knowing that we had cast it on the 
right spot, for at 4, p. m., we returned to the Pool with 
nearly a thousand pounds of fine cod and pollock. As my 
stay at the Pool had been prolonged much beyond the 
time I had anticipated, I concluded to take the late train 
for home. So bidding good bye to the Pool and all its 
pleasant associations, I took carriage to the depot, and 
arrived home at 9:15, p. m. 

On the Saturday following I received a letter from Capt. 
Frank, saying, "We were out in the Jennie B. on Frida}^ 



96 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

weather very moderate; anchored at 12, m.; returned to 
the Pool, at 5, p. m., with twelve hundred pounds of nice 
large pollock. Herring fleet all gone." 

WHALE FISHING. 

Although whale-fishing does not happen to be one of the 
industries of Biddeford Pool, and though the whale is not 
a fish, still the capturing of the monster holds relation to 
the taking of the finny tribe, though the means are differ- 
ent, the day being long since past when the giant went 
fishing, as we read, where 

" His hook he baited with a dragon's tail, 
Sat on a rock and bobbed for whale." 

Whale taking is included in all the histories of fisheries, 
and in Starbuck's "American Whale fishing" he combines 
all, claiming, as the promoters of civilization, the whalemen 
for pioneers, the explorers simply following where they 
have led. So we accept the term " fishing," instead of 
capturing the " monarch of the deep," if our own sword- 
fish does not cross swords with him in disputing that title. 
More than mere commercial adventurers, the whalemen, as 
" fishermen," have ever been the missionaries of civilization, 
and their vessels have always led science in discovery, 
thrusting their prows into unknown seas and challenging 
the world to follow. The story is told of two Russian 
ships that discovered a group of islands in the Antarctic 
Ocean, and were about flying the Russian flag above them, 
to secure their right, when a new discovery was made, 
that a little sealing sloop from Connecticut was at anchor 
between the ships and shore, that cut off their claim to pri- 
ority. It was on board of a whaler that the American flag 
was first unfurled in an English port, and another whaler, 
by the same token, made South America acquainted with 
her republican neighbor. 

Contemporary with the settlement of New York and 
Massachusetts, the whale fisheries have had existence, now 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL 



97 



diminished by the intervention of other articles than oil for 
lubrication and light, and by the decimation of the whales 
— and they furnished, besides, for our war-marine, a body 
of men of the most sterling worth, to man our ships and 
maintain the dignity of the flag that they first advanced. 
The whale fisheries led until a recent date, comparatively, 
but now the cod fisheries are in advance. When the 
country was first settled whales abounded on our coast, 
and early writers describe the " taking ways " the Indians 
had in capturing them. One way was to harrass them to 
death by following them in canoes — probably surrounding 
them — and piercing them with wooden or bone harpoons, 
with ropes attached, made of the bark of trees, and tied to 
a log, or shooting them to death with arrows. They made 
a great time of it when they caught one, the chiefs equally 
dividing the flesh among their several tribes, which was 
hung up to dry, the fat saved to eat with peas and other 
vegetables. In the early days of the country the whale 
was equally a power on land as in the water, for he often 
furnished a bone of contention, and his fat gave impetus 
to the wheels of legislation. 

The whale was then a migratory animal, with regular 
months for coming and going, but now he comes as a 
stray wanderer at any time, and is rarely caught, save, 
perhaps, by Cape Cod or Nantucket people. One, many 
years ago, came up the Piscataqua river, at Portsmouth, 
and passed beneath the bridge, three or four miles from 
the sea. It probably went up in the night, as it shied the 
bridge in the morning, and remained above for a week, 
affording rare sport to the people, all of whom were out 
to kill it. It was caught at last by running itself on a 
shoal, and gave up its Hfe after a desperate struggle. 

The perils and vicissitudes of a whaleman's life are 
many, and the whalemen's profits have been sadly dispro- 
portionate with the risk to secure them. Yet the small 
amounts that we see accredited to them in the far past 



g8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

were very respectable in the day of small things, when 
inordinate wealth was not known nor desired. Hence the 
few thousand dollars per year were enough to satisfy com- 
panies and continue the fisheries, until a more extended 
business increased the price of oil and bone and swelled 
the profits accordingly. The business was precarious, and 
long cruises were often made with discouraging results, and 
short ones with prolific success. Mr. Starbuck gives many 
instances of profitable voyages, but they were above the 
average. One he cites as the most extraordinary voyage 
ever made, viz., the ship Envoy, of New Bedford, which 
was condemned to be broken up in 1847, but was patched 
up for service in '48, and sent on a whaling voyage, unin- 
sured — the underwriters refusing to take risk in her. She 
was sold, after her cruise, at San Francisco for $5,000, 
which, added to the value of cargo sold and sent home, 
increased the amount to $138,450. Though an old whaler 
may be condemned, it is no proof of her unseaworthiness, 
unless half eaten by sea worms, for the oil has a preserva- 
tive power, and there is no tighter vessel on the wave, and 
scarcely anything but a lee-shore can affect her. 

Rare anecdotes are told of whahng adventures and great 
daring in the capture of whales, and facts, far ahead of 
romance, work the effect of romance in their perusal. The 
staving of boats by whales in their " flurry," the loss of 
life, the incarceration of whale ships in the ice, the strug- 
gle to secure the whale when harpooned, are recitals that 
almost curdle the blood of the timid. Of those who have 
written the most and best about the whale fisheries, Wil- 
liam H. Marcy, of Nantucket, stands at the head. He has 
embodied his experiences recently, in a volume that graph- 
ically details the adventure, peril and success of the busi- 
ness, entided "Up North in the Gorgon," which is thrilling 
to read. Taking the sperm whale is an exploit that affords 
the most exultation to a whaleman, although the right 
whale yields about as much oil, and the fining of its jaw. 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL gg 

or bone, which, devoted to many purposes, is about as val- 
uable a commodity in the market as the oil. The bones 
of- the bow-head have been taken out, measuring seven- 
teen feet. The author of "The Nimrod of the Sea," a 
book on whaling, presents a familiar description of the 
head of a right whale, with bones like the largest of those 
named. He leaves the imagination to grasp the size of 
this whale from the dimensions of the head, as measured 
by objects familiar to the mind, first stating that " the 
blubber, or blanket, of such a whale would carpet a room 
2 2 yards long and 9 yards wide, averaging half a yard in 
thickness." Of the bone: "set up a saw-log, 2 feet in 
diameter and 20 feet in length for the ridge-pole of the 
room we propose to build; then raise it in the air 15 feet, 
and support it with pieces of timber 17 feet long, spread 
say, 9 feet. This will make a room 9 feet wide at the 
bottom, 2 feet wide at the peak, and 20 feet long, and will 
convey an idea of the upper jaw, the saw-logs and slanting 
support, representing the bone. These walls of bone are 
clasped by the white blubbery lips, which at the bottom 
are 4 feet thick, tapering to a blunt edge, where they fit 
into a rebate sunk in the upper jaw. The throat is 4 feet 
thick, and is mainly blubber, interpenetrated by fibrous 
muscular flesh. The lips and throat of a 250 barrel whale 
should yield 60 barrels of oil, and, with the supporting 
jaw-bones, will weigh as much as 25 oxen of 1000 pounds 
each. Attached to the throat by a broad base is the enor- 
mous tongue, the size of which can better be conceived by 
the fact that 25 barrels of oil have been taken from one. 
The right whale has an eye scarcely larger than a cow's, 
and an ear that would scarcely admit a knitting-needle." 
The spread of the lips of such a whale, as with open 
mouth it ploughs the sea for food, is about 30 feet, its tail 
about 25 feet broad, 6 feet thick, the point of junction with 
the body some 4 feet in diameter, and the vertebra about 
15 inches. "Through the greater blood vessels, more than 



lOO GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

a foot in diameter, surges, at each pulsation of the heart, 
(as large as a hogshead), a torrent of barrels of blood 
heated to 104 degrees. The respiratory canal is over 12 
inches in diameter. 

These enormous bones of the right whale, with their 
fringed edges, serve to supply it with food, such as small 
fish that swim on the surface, for, unlike its relative, the 
sperm whale, it has a small swallow, and it takes its 
rations with open mouth, that is closed when full, and then 
travels till satisfied. The sperm whale is provided with 
monstrous jaws armed with fearful teeth, with which it 
even crunches a boat now and then, and feeds principally 
on the immense squids to be found in the distant seas. 
"Nimrod of the Sea" says, that in the agonies of the 
" flurry " it often throws up immense pieces of undigested 
food, sometimes half as large as a whale boat, and, in one 
instance, fragments of a shark several feet long. This 
shows his capacity as a feeder, and that, like the anaconda, 
as described by the showman, he takes his victuals whole. 

One habit of the sperm whale, is his abilty to sink 
instantly, like lead, when struck or when alarmed. With- 
out moving either way, or by a perceptible motion of fluke 
or tail, he will disappear before the harpoon, that has been 
hurled, reaches him, to the mortification of the whaleman, 
an adept in the use of the instrument, who draws in his 
ineffectual line with a sense of shame, that nature should 
thus get ahead of him. Naturalists fail to explam the 
secret of this phenomenon. Resort for whale capture is 
now had to the bomb-lance, which, following the harpoon, 
is more effectual than the old hand-lance. This, however, 
is at times not very speedy in effecting the capture, as one 
case is recorded where 31 bomb-lances were fired into a 
whale before he succumbed to his fate. 

The whale, as has been said, is a migratory animal, 
though its return to our shores is very rare. Along the 
Pacific coast it abounds at regular seasons, and the Bay of 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. loi 

Monterey is a favorite resort for whales. There are sev- 
eral Portuguese whaling stations there that do considerable 
business, though not so extensive as formerly. The shore 
of the Bay, nearest the town, is lined with the skeletons of 
whales, that have drifted in after the whalemen have 
stripped them of their blubber; the vertebra is taken by 
citizens to pave the walks of gardens or the yards of dwel- 
lings. With regard to its migration, evidence is shown 
that it has discovered a northwest passage beneath the ice, 
for whales harpooned in the Arctic Ocean have been found 
with the irons remaining in them at the opposite side of 
the pole, undoubtedly without jumping over it. 

The small fin-back whale, or black-fish, is the only one 
that dares to put in an appearance here, and sometimes 
quite a number sport in our deeper waters, at once, to the 
delight of those out on summer cruises. They are not 
troubled much except by fishermen at Cape Cod or Nan- 
tucket, who maintain old habits by pursuing them. It is 
small game, however. Every summer these smaller whales 
are seen off the Pool, provoking a, desire to take one, as is 
shown in the poem by Mr. Pearson, in this volume, 
describing the search for one on the E. Lawson, Capt. 
Goldthwait, which resulted, as all efforts do, in disappoint- 
ment. The whale, as described by the father, when asked 
by his offspring regarding one, is a big thing. 

A graphic account of the taking of a " right whale " is 
given in a novel, now out of print, called " Miriam Coffin, 
or The Whale Fisherman," which I reduce to readable 
dimensions. Capt. Seth Macy, of the ship Grampus, on a 
whaling cruise, was lying impatiently at anchor in Walwich 
Bay, on the western coast of Africa, in company with 
ships of other nationalities bent on the same errand. This 
bay, during certain seasons, is resorted to by the " right 
whale " for food, consisting principally of peculiar kinds of 
small fish that keep in shoal water about the bay and herd 
or school toi^ether in countless numbers. These are sucked 



I02 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

in by the whale through the vertical bars of whalebone 
that stud its mouth like the gratings of a prison window, 
or the palings of a picket fence. It was not the season for 
the whales' appearing, and Capt. Seth was eager for work. 
He had stationed a man at the mast head to look out for 
whales, and was walking his quarter deck impatiently, 
when the man aloft shouted '■'■ Flooks^flooks I ''"' to the great 
delight of Capt. Seth, and all his men, who left their break- 
fast unfinished and rushed for their respective boats, four 
of which were lowered from the Grampus, and imitated by 
the crews of other vessels, that had caught the alarm. 
Soon the bay was covered with boats in pursuit of the 
animal, which showed no particular alarm a half mile 
away. The whale is not a vicious animal, unless wounded; 
and, if not frightened, will move off sluggishly from his 
pursuers, and appear and disappear at regular intervals, so 
that, if the direction is well observed when he sinks (or 
shows his ^'■jlooks^'' or forked tail, as he dives), a pretty 
accurate calculation may be formed as to the place of his 
reappearance. An attempt was made to head him off, but 
he deviated from customary practice and headed for the 
open sea, throwing the boats into confusion. Capt. Macy 
manned his boat with the first pick of the men — the cap- 
tain's prerogative — and it was matter to him of deep 
regret to have the whale escape him by changing his 
course. The animal, however, was in no hurry to leave, 
but cruised around the anchorage of the ships, taking in 
his food, apparently indifferent to the hostile demonstrations 
that were making. At last, gorged with his meal, he com- 
menced in earnest his retreat from the bay, the boats' 
crews making a new effort to head him off, which was 
unsuccessful. He vanished from sight, and then a race 
ensued in the direction that he was supposed to have taken. 
He came up to breathe, at last, a mile ahead of the fore- 
most boats, Capt. Seth's boat being somewhat behind. 
This resulted from a disposition to wait until the whale 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 103 

should have got clear of the bay, and the strength of his 
crew was little impaired by efforts thus far. At the appear- 
ance of the whale on the broad sea, he rallied his men for 
pursuit, and when the animal appeared again it was but 
half a mile distant. Now came the contest between Capt. 
Seth and three rivals — a Spaniard, a Dutchman and an 
Englishman. He held the steering oar in his left hand, 
and placed his right foot against the after oar just below 
the hand of the oarsman. This gave added power to the 
oar, and soon two of his contestants were passed. The 
Englishman was the last, who imitated the trick of the foot 
upon the oar, but broke the propeller in the rowlocks, and 
the Nantucket skipper passed on to his triumph. 

" Way enough - — peak your oars ! " said Seth to his men. 
The oars bristled apeak, after the fashion of the whale fish- 
ermen. The harpooner immediately seized and balanced his 
weapon over his head, and planted himself firmly in the 
bow of the boat. At that instant the huge body of the 
whale rose above the surface, and Seth, with a single turn 
of his steering oar, brought the bow dead upon the mon- 
ster, a few feet back of the fin. Simultaneously with the 
striking of the boat, the well-poised harpoon was launched 
deep into the flesh of the animal. 

'"Starn all!' shouted Seth. 

" The boat was backed off in an instant, and the whale, 
feeling the sting of the barb, darted off like the wind. 
The well-coiled line flew through the groove of the bow- 
post with incomparable swiftness, and it presently began to 
smoke, and then to blaze, with the rapidity of friction. 
Seth now took the bow with his lance, exchanging places 
with the harpooner, and quietly poured water upon the 
smoking groove until it was cooled. The oars were again 
peaked, and the handles inserted in brackets fixed on the 
ceiling of the boat beneath the thwarts — the blades pro- 
jecting over the water like wings, and the men, immova- 
ble, rested from their long and successful pull. And much 



I04 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

need did they have of the relief, for a more arduous or 
better contested chase they had never experienced. 

" The line in the tub was now well nigh run out, and 
the boatsteerer, with a thick buckskin mitten, or nipper, as 
it is called, for the protection of his hand, siezed hold of 
the line, and, in a twinkling, caught a turn around a log- 
gerhead, to enable the man at the tub oar to bend on 
another line. The rapidity of the animal's flight, the while, 
was inconceivable. The boat now ploughed deeply and 
laboriously, leaving banks of water on each side, as she 
parted the wave, that overtopped the men's heads, and 
effectually obscured the sight of every object on the sur- 
face. The swell of the closing water came after them in 
a heavy and angry rush. The second line was now 
allowed to run from the loggerhead, and a drag, or plank, 
about eighteen inches square, with a line proceeding from 
each corner and meeting at a point, like a pyramid, was 
fastened to it and thrown over to deaden the speed of the 
whale. Another and another drag was added, until the 
animal, feeling the strong backward pull, began to relax 
his efforts, and, presently, he suddenly descended, though 
not to the full extent of the slackened line. 

" It now became necessary to haul in the slack of the 
line, and to coil it away in the tub carefully, while the 
men pulled with their oars to come up to the whale when 
he should rise to the surface. All things were soon ready 
again for the deadly attack. The ripple of the whale, as 
he ascended, was carefully marked, and when he again 
saw the light of day, a deep wound, close to the barbed 
harpoon, was instantly inflicted by the sharp lance of Seth. 
It was the death blow. 

"'Starn all!' was the cry once more, and the boat was 
again quickly backed off by the oarsmen. 

"The infuriated animal reared in agony, and lashed the 
ocean into foam. The blood gushed from his spout-holes, 
falling in torrents upon the men in the boat and coloring 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. loj 

the sea. The whale in his last agony is a fearful creature. 
He rose perpendicularly in the water, head downwards, 
and again writhed and lashed the sea with such force that 
the people in the distant boats, though miles away, heard 
the sound distinctly. The exertion was too violent to last 
long: it was the signal of his dissolution. His life-blood 
ceased to flow, and he turned his belly to the sun! The 
boat of the Grampus floated triumphantly above the body 
of the slaughtered leviathan, and the peril of the hardy 
crew was over." 



Catching Whales. — A Detroit whaler communicates to 
the reporter of the J^?'ee Press the following mode of tak- 
ing the monsters of the deep — not Lake Michigan — and 
it comes in timely as an episode: 

"No, sir— 'tain't no fun, whale fishin' ain't, you can betcher life on that." 

" Tell me something about it." 

" V^hat 'ud be the use! You wouldn't understand. You'd put it in the 
paper so chuck full of mistakes it 'ud make a whale fisher sick to read it. But 
then I dunno. Most people ain't whale fishers and most whale fishers can't 
read. So it wouldn't matter, would it, cap'n.'" 

" I don't know that it would, but I'll try to get it straight." 

" Well then, you see we don't ship like most sailors, we goes on lays you 
see." 

" No, I don't. What 's lays } " 

"There vou go. I knew that 'ud be the way. Why, any fool knows what 
on a lay means." 

" I know one fool who doesn't." 

" Well, a lay means a share. A green hand gets iSoth, and an A. B. gets 
i6oth, see.' " 

"What's an A. B. and the i6oth of what.'" 

" Well, if you ain't the worst! Why, an able seaman gets the i6oth. Of 
what, eh.' Why of the catch, to be sure. What 'd you think.' Of the ship.' 
Well, I shipped on the Sea Breeze at San Francisco, able seaman. She's run- 
ning yet — that bark is, and the cap'n 'n' mate's first rate fellows^ put that 
in, will you.' I was the mate's right hand man. I was his bo' striker." 

" What's a bow striker.' " 

" I didn't say bow striker ; I said boat striker, b-o-t-e, hoaf. Don't you 
understand English.' Why a boat striker is — pshaw, you make me tired. 
Well, we laid our course for the Sandwich Islands an' ." 

"The Sandwich Islands.'" 

" Yes, the Sandwich Islands. Didn't vou liear me sav so.^ What's the 



io6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

matter with you? I suppose j'£>« wouldn't a gone by the Sandwich Islands." 

" Well, it strikes me as rather a rovindabout way to get to the Arctic Ocean." 

" Oh, does \\.t You'd make a healthy sea captain, you would. I'd like to be 
on a lay with you^ 

" Let's get on with the lay we're at. What did you go to the Sandwich 
Islands for.' " 

" What for.'' What does any of 'em go for? " 

" Give it up." 

" Well, they goes for sperm oil. They gets the rigging set, a-going there, 
and they provisions up at the Sandwich Islands to help out the salt horse and 
hard tack." 

" And is the sperm oil you get in the tropics as good as that in the Arctic? " 

" Now you've got it. I see you've got the hang of the whole thing. Sperin 
oil in the Arctic. Oh, Lord! You're a bright 'un. Sperm oil? Well, if that 
don't — Now I suppose it wouldn't supprise you to see a sperm whale in the 
Detroit river, oi", ma'be, a walking up Wood'ard avenue? Oh, it would, eh? 
Well, it 'ud supprise me just as much to see a sperm whale up North — so it 
would any sensible man. Why, sperm whales is Tropic whales. North we 
get the bowhead." 

" The bowhead, eh ? " 

" Certainly. There's a gi-eat difference in them whales. The spenu's a 
cuss — you can't depend on hiin. No, sir. His oil's worth a dollar a barrel, 
and he knows it and puts on style. The bowhead's only worth fifty cents a 
barrel, and so he's meeker like. You can depend on a bowhead. You can't 
on a sperm. The bowhead's got certain feeding gi-ounds, and there you find 
him at certain seasons of the year. In the fall they go south. In the spring 
they go north. You see, they have certain feeding grounds, and all yovi have 
to do is to go to their feeding grounds at the right time and there's your bow- 
head. The bowhead lives on insects, and he — " 

" On insects? " 

" Oh, thafs set you off, has it? I said on insects, didn't I? " 

" Does your bowhead jump out like a lake fish and catch his insect? " 

" Now, you can't come any of your smart Aleck business on me. If you 
know more about whales than I do — then good-by-" 

" No, but I didn't know they lived on insects, and I wanted to find out how 
they caught 'em, that's all." 

" The insects are in the water. Look like fine meal — all little white nubs. 
When the man on the fore crosstrees sees a whale he sings out, " There she 
blows." The officer on deck cries, " Where away ? " And the man aloft he 
sings, 'Six points off the lee bow.' " 

" Svippose it is six and a half or seven?" 

"/'w tellin' this. So we clears away the boats — larboard boat first — that's 
the first mate's, then the second mate's and then the third. Some of the 
steain whalers have seven mates. The Sea Breeze had four. There's six 
men — the mate, four oarsmen and the boat-steerer — ^in each boat, with two 
irons " — 

"The boat-steerer steers the boat, of course?" 



THE INDUSTRIES OF THE POOL. 107 

*' Of course he don't. The mate steers the boat." 

*' Well, what is the boat-steerer.' " 

*'The boat-steerer stands in the bow and irons the whale." 

" Ironing the whale takes all the starch out of it, I suppose." 

" Right you are. You'd call irons harpoons, I suppose, all landsinen do. 
We try to sail on the whale if the wind holds and sometimes we run right on 
it. Then we lets go the halliards and the sail; unsteps the mast and runs it 
under the thwarts out o' the way ; and he irons the whale abaft the fluke." 

" What's the fluke? " 

"Why, the tail, of course; what else.'' Then the mate takes the bomb-gun 
and fires into the whale. If the bombs strike the lungs or a vital spot it's all 
day with that fellow. I've seen it take a dozen bombs to kill a whale." 

"I thought they shot the harpoon now-a-days." 

" Some does and some don't. With Fletcher's improved gun they can shoot 
jin iron into a whale ten fathoms off in still weather, but with the boat a-bob- 
bin' up and down you can't do much with a gun at that distance. Two or 
three fathoms with the old-fashioned iron and a good boat steerer's better than 
them new-fangled things." 

" Ever get wrecked? " 

" Got upset once and stove in twice. When a whale's struck she makes for 
an ice field. One got us in a lake among the ice and took to millin'." 

"What's that?" 

" Turnin' round, of course. How else could a whale mill? Then she hoists 
her fluke clear over us, and blow me if she didn't smash the opposite gun'- 
nel!" 

" Did you get thrown out? " 

" Oh, course not! Course we went right along with the starboard gun'nel 
a-stove in! Lord, yes! Now, what'ud you a done? " 

" I'd got out and walked." 

" Oh, I dassay. Well, -ve didn't. We didn't have no regetta arterwards, 
neither. We was all in the drink in a jiffy, and the second mate's boat picked 
us up." 

" What do you do with the whale when it's dead?" 

" We wreathe a strap through the fluke and wreathe the eighty-fathom line 
through the strap and tow her to the ship. There's a 300-fathom line in the 
tub, that line's on the iron, then an eighty-fathom line in the midship thwart. 
First one lip is hoisted aboard, then the tongue, then the other lip, and put in 
the blubber room 'tween decks. Then they cut the blanket pieces with cut- 
ting spades — five inches wide, of sharp steel, with twelve-foot handles. 
When we gets two or three whales aboard we lays to or anchors and tries out 
the oil." 

" How long were you out, and how many whales did vou get on that 
voyage ? " 

" We were out eleven months and got seventeen whales. My lay was $220. 
A hundred-barrel whale's a good one. And say — you put in, that the Sea 
Breeze was the last ship as saw the Jeannette. No, sir; 'taint no fun whale 
fishin', vou bet." 



YACHTING AND BATHING. 



THE perils of the sea are descanted upon by landsmen, 
who watch our yachts and smaller craft as they glide over 
the waves, subject to sudden storms and vicissitudes of the 
deep, but seldom to experienced boatmen, especially those 
at the Pool, do serious accidents occur, or anything, indeed, 
beyond the mere carrying away of some part of the rigging, 
or meeting with some trifling disaster that may be easily 
remedied. Almost all the casualties that occur proceed 
from inexperience, and it should be an object of especial 
care, with those who let boats, to know that those to whom 
they entrust their property are competent to take care of 
it. But a few years since, a sail-boat, containing three 
young men, was capsized at the mouth of the Piscataqua, 
by a sudden squall, and one of the three drowned. Two 
were rescued and the boat was allowed to drift away; 
when recovered it was found that eight turns of the sheet 
had been made around the cleat at the stern. The melan- 
choly fate of the crew of the yacht M3^stery, from New 
Haven for Nantucket, wrecked in Buzzard's Bay, probably 
proceeded from the same cause. She was manned by four 
young men, embarked on a pleasant summer trip, who 
were never heard of, their fate left to conjecture, the wreck 
of their vessel being found in the Bay. Such instances as 
these illustrate the necessity of caution. No boat should be 



no GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

allowed to go out upon the sea without assurance being 
given of competency to man her. An excellent life-long 
Pool pilot thus gravely discourses: 

"It is lamentable, but nevertheless true, that scores of 
yachts which cruise along our coasts during the summer 
season are not properly manned; or, as an old salt looks 
at it, manned by a crew that really don't know when 
to take in sail, when to make sail, or what to do in an 
emergency, when good judgment is needed. This may 
seem strange to many who are but little acquainted with 
boats and boat-sailing, but the only strange thing there is about 
it is, to the man of experience, that there are no more lost 
than is reported. Accidents will happen to the best of 
men and managers, and sometimes it even seems that the 
ignorant steer clear, when those who are fully posted run 
into danger. But this is not so, and the record will show 
that nine-tenths of the accidents that happen to the yacht- 
ing and boating fleets, result from inexperienced manage- 
ment. No vessel or boat, from the size of the Great East- 
ern to the smallest craft that floats, should ever start on a 
voyage, be it ever so long or short, without being in 
charge of some one who is, in every respect, competent 
for his position. 

"But while speaking of the danger that attends the 
unskillful boatman, attention may be called to the danger 
that surf-bathers incur when they undertake to brave old 
Ocean, for however hard the beach, and however well 
assured bathers may be that there is no danger lurking 
near, still the sea is an insidious worker, and the fearful 
undertow, on what are considered the safest beaches, may 
be doing its treacherous work underneath. Take any beach 
you please, and you will find it at one time so hard that 
the iron shoe of a horse will barely indent its surface; at 
another time it will be found gullied out, with the sand 
removed, in wide streaks for the entire length, with per- 
haps here and there little ledges of rock peeping above the 



YACHT TNG AND B*ATHING. m 

surface, plainly indicating that the undertow has been there; 
even though at another tide the smooth sand may be 
restored and the ledges covered. If that unfortunate partv 
at Wells Beach, who went to their death, had but known 
the danger they were to meet, or had listened to the coun- 
sel of one who advised them, a terrible affliction would 
have been averted. 

'"Oh mother!' said a lovely young lady, a few years 
ago, as she stood amid a group of bathers, 'do let me go 
in just once more,' for the breakers looked very fascina- 
ting as they broke upon the shore and she could not resist 
the temptation. She went in and in less than ten minutes 
was taken out a corpse. 

"A young man, full of life, strong physicall}^, and a fine 
swimmer, plunged into the wave, to encounter the under- 
tow, that caught him and swept him out beyond any help 
from the shore. Strong men in a boat barely rescued him 
from his perilous situation just as he was sinking, exhausted, 
beneath the sea. 

" Every summer what multitudes of these cases we see 
reported — distressing cases of bathers swallowed up by the 
sea in the presence of loving friends, powerless to aid them. 
In many places great precautions for safety are taken, by 
providing life-lines and skillful boatmen to protect the bath- 
ers; but yet, maugre all precautions, many are drowned 
through their own recklessness in going into the surf at 
moments when aid is not at hand." 

The sea philosopher thus concludes: 

" I would like to ask if there is any more virtue in surf- 
bathing than there is in still-water bathing.^ If there is not, 
then why not keep in smooth water? Should the bather 
feel that he or she must have a plunge in the foamy brine, 
then let the subject take some one along, who is well 
acquainted with the shore and the whirl of the tides, to 
point out the dangerous places. It seems to me, that any 
one, or any number, embarking on vessel, yacht, or boat, 



112 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

for a voyage along the coast, without having a skillful 
boatman and pilot on board, or an}^ that attempt surf-bath- 
ing without first taking advice from those who know its 
danger, are just as foolhardy as was Capt. Webb, when 
he attempted to brave the whirlpool of Niagara, knowing 
that it was almost sure death to make the plunge." 

H. C. Folkard, of London, the best of authority in nau- 
tical matters, published a treatise in 1870, upon English and 
foreign boats and yachts, touching every point relating to 
building and sailing. He gives some directions regarding 
the management of sailing-boats in squalls, that may be of 
practical value: 

" On a wide expanse of water," he says, " signs of a 
squall may generally be seen on the surface some few 
moments before it reaches and strikes the sails of the boat; 
and at sea a squall may sometimes be seen at a distance 
of many miles; in which case there is plenty of time for 
shortening sail before its effects are felt. But in narrow 
rivers, and when sailing close under the land, squalls often 
come down upon the boat with all the suddenness imagina- 
ble. Such are the most dangerous of all squalls, and it is, 
besides, difficult to suggest a means of avoiding their dan- 
gerous effects on an open boat; except that double caution 
should be taken that the main-sheet is always ready to be 
let go in an instant, whenever you are sailing along the 
coast; for squalls come sometimes sweeping down the val- 
leys with great force, and often catch the boats in a calm, 
as it emerges from the shelter of some high cliff or mound, 
and many and sad are the accidents that have arisen from 
such squalls. 

"When sailing in an open boat, if a heav}" squall is 
observed approaching, the peak of the mainsail should be 
lowered, or the sail brailed up. If only a light or little 
squall, allow it to just strike the sails, then lift the boat 
up to it, but not so as to lose all way: keep the boat 
going, or she will not answer to the helm. If a very 



IHMMM' 







YACHTING AND BATHING. lij 

heavy squall, the sprit should be taken out and the fore- 
sheet slacked. When threatened with a white squall, it is 
safest to let the fore-sail run down and to drop the peak 
of the main-sail; also to take in the jib if it be a large 
one. In an ordinary squall, if the sails be reefed and the 
boat a safe and powerful one, there is nothing to fear 
under judicious management. The boat may be conducted 
through it in safety by sailing her narrow; i. e., so close 
to the wind that the fore-leeches of the sails just begin to 
shake; but great caution is necessary, lest the sails be 
taken aback. In all cases of heavy squalls and strong 
winds, it is of the highest importance to keep good way 
on the boat, for if the boat lose way, or is stationary, the 
squall will tell upon it with double force and treble danger 
to that to which it would be liable if moving rapidly 
ahead. If a squall should strike the sails whilst the boat 
is running free, the helm should be j)ut down\ and this is 
a very important precaution to take in such cases, for if a 
mistake be made and the helm -put up, the squall will most 
likely capsize the boat." 

The author then treats of the causes of boats capsizing, 
agreeing with our own sea philosopher from whom we 
have quoted: 

" Notwithstanding the numerous and melancholy accidents 
that occur, year after year, through the mismanagement 
and upsetting of sailing boats, there are persons who will 
not take warning therefrom, but persist in rushing head- 
long into danger which, with ordinary prudence, they 
might certainly avoid. The casualties that occur are not 
always occasioned by stress of weather, but are mainly 
attributable to causes within control. Boats are not so fre- 
quently capsized on account of large sails, strong winds, 
and heav}' seas, as the}' are from mismanagement and care- 
lessness—by far the greater portion of accidents occurring 
in fine or moderate weather. Among the principal causes 
of boats capsizing are: inattention to the main and jib 



114 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

sheets; wrong adjustment of the sails, particularly the 
head-sails, or those before the mast; large and dispropor- 
tionate spars; improper trim of hull, whereby the boat 
carries a lee-helm instead of a weather-helm; missing 
stays; sluggishness on coming about; insufficient ballast; 
the ballast shifting and rolling over to leeward; the jamb- 
ing of a rope, whereby it is checked in running through 
the blocks or sheaves; the sail not coming down freely; 
ill-fitting blocks; reckless pressure of sail; overcrowding 
the boat with people; intoxication; standing up in the 
boat; leaning over the gunwale," &c. 

The author proceeds, inculcating the greatest care regard- 
ing the coiling of ropes and keeping the halliards free, 
especially the several sheets on which all the safety of the 
craft depends. "In moderate weather," he says, "or dur- 
ing a steady breeze, with a clear sky, and when not likely 
to be squally, seamen and boatmen are frequently inclined 
to take what is called a ' slippery hitch ' in the sheet : this 
is done by twisting the bight of the rope round its own 
part. A careful sailor, however, will never, under any 
circumstances, allow the main sheet to be belayed: he 
either holds or orders the slack to be held in hand." 

This counsel, from an English view of things, may have 
room for application here where the same perils exist. At 
any rate it harmonizes with our exhortation to caution, and 
it matters not whether this is secured by English or Yan- 
kee means. 




ROMANCE OF THE POOL. 



THERE are many incidents, legends, and traditions told at 
Biddeford Pool, some of which have found their way into 
print, and, as Hamlet says, " more remains behind." The 
following, by Major Pearson, whose name is mentioned in 
the succeeding paper, tells its own story: 



A LEGEND OF SACO BAY. 

Off Wood Island Light, at the entrance to Saco Bay, coast of Maine, is a 
lone, foam-covered rock, known to sailormen as "Washburn" or "The Wash- 
erman." It is believed that in old times, while Neptune yet ruled the sea, this 
rock was the abode of a mermaid. 

With this rock and its romantic tradition for the subject, the ensuing lines 
were written to amuse a friend, while sojourning at that Paradise of watering 
places, Biddeford Pool, Maine. 

A. W. Pearson. 

Fair lady, I'll tell you a story in rhyme, 

A story of love it of course will be ; 

A tale of what happened in olden tiine, 

Mid the beautiful scenes of our eastern clime, 

By the shore of its restless sea. 

Strange, strange is the story, and yet it is true ; 

Improbable still as it all may seem; 

For I dreamed it last night, and while dreaming I knew 

That since t'was a dream it was sure to be true. 

For there's nothing so true as a dream. 



ii6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

'Twas a dream of the reef at the mouth of the bay, 
Where the waves as they burst ever whiten in foam: 
' Tis the Washerman rock, and our sailor boys say 
That once, in the long ago time far away,, 
' Twas a beautiful mermaiden's home. 

And sometimes when sailing belated at night, 

The siren was seen by the sailor boy there. 

Where the spray dashes high and the breakers are white. 

Sitting perched on the rock in the moon's misty light, 

Sweetly singing while combing her hair. 

Beneath this lone rock was her fairy-built cell. 
Far down, where the light of the sun never came ; 
It was garnished with sea-weed, and inlaid with shell. 
And 'twas lit by a phosphorus flame. 

Its ceiling was crystal, around on the wall 
Thickly studded were Rubies and diamonds rare ; 
But purer than crystal, and brighter than all 
Of the jewels adorning her glittering hall. 
Was the mermaiden languishing there. 

Lonely and sad she reclined in her cave. 
Encircled by splendor and wealth untold, 
And mused by the light of the gleaming wave. 
As it sparkled o'er sands of gold. 

" Ah ! why, alone in the dreary sea 
Am I, in my beauty condemned to dwell '? 
Is there no one on earth my adorer to be ; 
To rest in my arms while he whispers to me, 
The tale of his true love to tell.^ " 

" Ah! if he only were by my side, 
How closely I'd cling to his fervid breast! 
How happy I'd be as his ocean bride! 
And he, in my love how blest! " 

" I'd spread for hiin softly a mossy bed, 

And seat myself by my darling there. 

And sing him to rest, while I pillowed his head 

In the waves of my golden hair." 

" I'd tenderlj' watch him, and, as he slept, 

If fairy-born visions his spirit beguiled, 

I'd drink up his tears when his eyelashes wept, 

And kiss his warm lips when in dreams they smiled." 



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ROMANCE OF THE POOL. ,iy 

" And when he awakened, my bright eyes should be 
The mirrors of love, where m}' lover might see 
As he gazed in their depths that their crystal throne, 
Like my heart, held his image and it alone." 

She mused, and her breathing was warm and quick; 
She sighed, and her throbbing heart beat fast; 
Her eyes became humid, and heavy and thick, 
From their silken fringe fell the tears at last. 

She rose; one parting look she gave 

At her virgin home, then clasped the wave, 

Where the crystal door of her palace swung; 

Deep down in the yielding flood she sprung. 

With rapid stroke, yet firm and free, 

Her white arms flashed through the shining sea, 

And her gleaming track left its light afar. 

Like the glittering train of a falling star. 

She glided along o'er the coral groves, 

Where the nymphs of Neptune sing their loves, 

She passed where the water Kelpies sleep 

In their shady caves in the sunless deep, — 
From her meteor path, as she cleft the tide 
The crab and the lobster scuttled aside, 
And the dolphin turned, with astonished eye. 
To gaze, as the Ocean's Queen swept by. 
Then upward, upward, away, away, 
vShe swiftly sprang to the light of day: 
Another stroke, and her speed was done ; 
She shook the spray from her streaming hair ; 
It gleamed like gold in the evening sun, 
Which never shone on a face .so fair. 

'Twas the close of a sultry summer dav: 

The sea shone bright in the .sunset rav: 

The sky was pure, and the winds were still, 

And with softened voice and a nameless thrill 

The murmuring ocean's deep-toned roar 

Seemed turned to a gentle hymn of jov. 

In the ear of the slumbering .sailor bov, 

As he rocked in his barge by th e sounding sliore. 

The mermaid came o'er the placid sea. 
And swam to the slumbering sailor's side. 
*' My wish is granted at last!'' said she, 
*' This dreaming mortal my lover shall he, 
" To live in my ocean home with me. 
"Oh! come! My darling! behold thy bride! 
1.-) 



ri8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

"Though the maids of the shore may be kind and fair, 
" My love is more fond than theirs ever can be ; 
" Oh, hasten ! my beautiful home to share 
" In the deep of the dark blue sea! " 

He dreamily turned, as she sweetly sung. 

And closer still to his ear she crept; 

His languid arm o'er the barge was hung. 

And drooped in the wave, while he deeply slept. 

" Ah come! to my wave-girt home with me! 
" Come, my dearest! and do not fear. 
" Long, long and happy our lives shall be, 
" And I'll hide thee safe in the secret sea, 
" When the winds of the storm come near." 

The waves grew rough, and the sky was dark ; 
The surge foamed white on the misty strand : 
The youth still slept, in the quivering bark. 
And the siren had clasped his hand. 

" Come, love ! with me to my ocean home ! 
"To my fairy garden, so cool and blest! 
" Through groves of coral together we'll roam, 
" And when we are weary, beneath a dome 
" Of jewelled beauty we'll rest." 

The sky is darker, and cold the wind ; 
The barque is tossed on the breaker's crest ; 
The siren's arms round the youth are twined, 
And her eager lips to his own are pressed. 

Next morn, in the light of a stormy dawn, 
The sea cast a wreck on the lonely shore — 
The sailor boy's boat, — but its freight was gone ; 
The dreamer returned no more. 




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POOL STRATEGY. 



A CAPITAL story is told at Biddeford Pool, illustrating 
a rivalry that formerly existed among the pilots of that vicin- 
ity, whose custom it was to watch for Saco bound vessels 
in the offing, and board them at sea. There were quite a 
number who were acting as pilots, and a spirit of emula- 
tion actuated them as to which should get first to the ves- 
sel, and there were pretty exciting contests in their efforts 
to obtain the job. All were capital sailors, and every bit 
of their agility and skill was put in requisition to win. 
One day a brig was seen in the offing, and it signalled for a 
pilot. She was not far from land, but to reach her it was 
necessary to round East Point, making a long stretch of 
miles for the pilot to overcome. Two pilots in one boat 
started on a run for the prize, and put in all they knew to 
accomplish the object, tussling with the tide and sweating 
with their endeavor. After the boat had left the landing, 
a stout pilot, who had stood calmly whittling a stick, with 
a queer expression on his face and a twinkle in his eye, 
showed signs of activity. He gave no indication, however, 
of intention to follow his rivals, though he watched them 
eagerly until they were hidden from his sight by the Lob- 
ster Rocks. Then he became all alive, like a black-fish. 
Seizing a common light gunning float, that lay at the 
wharf, he yanked her from the water, and without a word 



I20 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

to any one, signifying his intention, he threw her upon a 
wheelbarrow, and started upon a run across the neck to 
Long Beach, where he launched his boat and was soon 
on his way to the brig, hidden from his contestants by the 
intervening land and rocks. He soon gained her deck and 
took charge of her, when soon, rounding the point, in the 
distance, came the rival pilots, pulling for dear life. The 
occupants of the boat rushed up the brig's side and were 
astonished to find Capt. Bill at the helm, whom they had 
lately left at the landing, whittling, as meek as Moses, but 
as crafty as a cat. Between the two disappointed ones 
remarks were made about Capt. Bill, more emphatic than 
complimentary, but they soon got over their chagrin and 
stood the laugh at their expense like heroes. Capt. Bill's 
" strategy " was long a story at the Pool, and some of the 
older ones laugh at it even now. 




EARLY FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 



IN 1623 a fishing vessel from England, having completed 
her cargo in " Mattachusetts Bay," sailed for Spain leaving 
fourteen men in the country at Cape Ann, to await her 
return. Early in the next year the same ship, with a con- 
sort, came to Cape Ann, and after an unsuccessful fishing 
season set sail for England, leaving thirty-two men here. 
The following year three vessels came from England, and 
an effort was made to establish a colony here under the 
governorship of Roger Conant, but the attempt was aban- 
doned. In the course of the year, Mr. Conant, and some 
of his companions, removed to Salem and founded the col- 
ony of Massachusetts Bay, The fisheries of Cape Ann, as 
a considerable and permanent industry, seem to have 
become fairly established about 1722, when the business 
was conducted on a somewhat extensive scale at Annis- 
quam, and also in a lesser degree in the harbor parish. 
About seventy schooners were owned in Gloucester in 
1 74 1, nearly all of which were employed in the Grand 
Banks fishery. The tonnage employed in the Cape Ann 
fisheries at the outbreak of the Revolution, could not have 
been far from 4800, employing about 600 men; yearh' 
product $100,000. 

The Revolution put an embargo upon bank fishing- 
After peace had been declared the business was resumed. 



122 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

In 1804 the whole number of vessels, over thirty tons, 
engaged in the Cape Ann fisheries, was only eight, and 
for nearly a half century fishing was almost totally aban- 
doned. 

The shore fishing reached its maximum in 1832, when it 
employed a tonnage of 6483, and 799 men. Annual value, 
157,784 dollars. From this time the business, except as a 
winter industry, began to decline, giving place to mack- 
erel fishing, and other modern branches of the industry. 
Following are a few statistics in regard to the present fleet 
and bank fishing: 

Cape Ann of To-day. — Cape Ann is a prominent head 
land, dividing the waters of Ipswich Bay on the north 
from those of Massachusetts Bay on the south. Next to 
Maine, it is the most bold of the New England coast. In 
Ipswich Bay and upon the shoal grounds, the cod-fish and 
other species find favorite feeding places. It is here the 
Cape Ann fishermen have the best shore fishing during the 
fall and winter. Ipswich Bay has thus proved to be a 
good place for cod-fish, the fish remaining until into June 
before going into deeper water. The catch in late years 
has been very large, reaching, in the spring of 1879, ^^'" 
000,000 pounds of round fish. 

Extending along the coast of Massachusetts, New Hamp- 
shire and Maine, we find the cod and other species. 
Jeffrey's Bank, to the eastward of Biddeford Pool, is 
resorted to quite frequently. 

Fishermen who go out only for the day are obliged to 
keep pretty well circumscribed as to distance and generally 
have their own shoal marks opposite their homes and places 
of evening shelter. 

Two methods of capture only are extensively used by 
fishermen on our coast; hand-line and trawling. Hand- 
lines have always been used from the earliest times, and 
are still used largely on the shoal grounds. When a fisher- 
man uses the hand-line, after the desired shoal is reached. 



EARLY FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 123 

the "killock" is dropped, and then he seats himself upon 
the middle thwart of his boat, with his face toward the 
stern, his lines and gaff by his side, and his bucket of bait 
before him. He uses two lines, each having two hooks 
(or one on each just as he fancies). The leads var}^ in size 
from two to four pounds, as the tide may be swift at times 
and it will require more weight to keep the line down. The 
depth also has something to do with the size of the lead. 
The hooks are baited with herring or clams, the lines run 
down till they reach the bottom, and, when the lead strikes, 
about six feet of the line is drawn in, which allows the bait to 
swing just clear of the bottom. The lines are then made 
fast to a cleat or oar-lock, and occasionally the lines are 
sawed across the edge of the boat, which keeps the bait 
moving, as fish are more likely to be induced to bite. 
On hooking a fish, the fisherman stands and hauls hand- 
over-hand, until the fish is at the surface of the water, and, 
if a large one, he strikes it with the gaff and brings it in 
over the rail of the boat. 

The best fishing is generally early in the morning. The 
quantity of fish taken is dependent upon three conditions: 
the dexterity of the fisherman, abundance of fish, and quan- 
tity and kind of bait used. With regard to bait, it is 
often the case that fish change their tastes in this direc- 
tion, as will be seen from the following fact. While her- 
ring are considered excellent bait, 3^et w^e find fish vary re- 
garding it. Two vessels were fishing on " Tanto," thirteen 
miles from Wood Island, in a south-east direction, one of 
them hauling pollock, and large ones, too, the other fish- 
ing with fresh herring and catching nothing but dog-fish. 
Watching closely all the manoeuvres of the other vessel, and 
thinking something might be wrong, the skipper got into 
his dory, rowed to the vessel, and inquired the kind of 
bait they were using. To his astonishment he found they 
were using salted clams two years old; and, inquiring 
whether the captain would sell him a barrel, got this answer: 



124 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

" I don 't care about selling a barrel of clams, but I '11 lend 
you a barrel and when we are in Portland together you 
can put a barrel aboard my vessel." He returned on 
board his vessel and almost immediately was just as suc- 
cessful in hauling pollock as the other, and the next day 
went into Portland with a good fare of fish. I knew of 
an instance where four men caught, with hand-lines, and 
with fresh mackerel, four thousand pounds of nice pollock, 
and had them all taken care of between sunrise and sun- 
set, on the very same ground I was speaking of. I am 
in possession of many facts in regard to large quantities 
being taken by small vessels, fifteen to twenty tons meas- 
urement, and by hand-lines. 

The other method of fishing is called trawling — and by 
this means it is thought the fish will soon be made scarce 
— which originated about twenty-five years ago, and has 
since come into general use. This method is used almost 
exclusively where the bottom is smooth. When used on a 
rocky bottom, the trawls become fastened and the fisher- 
men often lose all their gear. 

The trawl consists of a long cod-line — two or more are 
sometimes used to get length — ■ and hooks are attached to 
short snoods, about six feet apart. The trawl has an 
anchor, of from eight to sixteen pounds weight, at either 
end, to hold it in position, while it is buoyed by small lines 
in order to discover its whereabouts if left over night, or 
even for a few hours during the day. Generally little kegs 
with flags are used for buoys. 

A large vessel carries, say, from eight to twelve men and 
as many dories; the dories are nested upon deck, and 
when the desired ground is reached, each man, with his 
gear, leaves the vessel and proceeds to run his trawl. Of 
course the fishermen have wind and tide to encounter, and 
often it is so rough, even with the sun shining, that they 
meet with serious difficulties while fishing in this way. As 
before stated, each fisherman uses from one thousand to 



EARL r FISHERIES OF CAPE ANN. 125 

twenty-five hundred hooks. The trawls are allowed to 
remain down several hours, and then they are hauled up 
and either coiled in a tub, to keep the whole from getting 
into a tangled mess, or, they are "underrun," rebaited, and 
allowed to run down again, perhaps to remain over night; 
in this case, a second buoy line is attached to a small 
weight on the end of the trawl, the other line being 
attached to a larger anchor only. In underrunning the 
fisherman stands in the bow of the boat, with a bucket of 
bait, takes off the fish, rebaits the hook and lets the line 
run down again. This keeps the ground if the fishing is 
good, and no time is lost, as some part of the trawl is 
always upon the bottom to tempt the fish with the alluring 
bait. Great quantities of fish are often taken in a single 
day. Record of 1878, made by schooner Geo. A. Upton, 
of Gloucester: 55,906 pounds round fish, two and one- 
half days, eight dories, nine hundred hooks to a man. 
Gill nets a're being used for cod-fish but they are often cut 
to pieces. Though not successful at first, I understand 
that large catches have since been made, and some 
think the nets, on the whole, are going to be successful as 
another means of taking cod and haddock in quantities. 

The bait is a vexed question for all salt-water fishermen. 
Much might be written and said about it, and when I state 
that fishermen will go with their vessels one hundred 
miles out of their way, simph' to get bait, it will not 
be thought strange that they get discouraged sometimes. 
Fish are occasionalh' dainty (I have before spoken of this 
matter), and sometimes a hungr}' cod or haddock will take any 
kind of bait and that upon a rusty hook, but often are 
what we call "pickers," and require the sharpest of hooks 
and the most tempting bait. The prices often rule very 
high for such bait as Sperling, mackerel and squid. Fish- 
ermen like to know what the fish are feeding upon and 
secure that if possible. Salt clams and frozen herring are 
used largely in the winter. Fresh clams and lobsters are 

16 



12b GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

used b}' the inshore fishermen in summer. Fishermen who 
go out daily like always to have their bait fresh. The 
bank fishermen must lay in a supply, in ice, sufficient for 
a week or fortnight. The fish find a ready market in 
Portland, Gloucester and Boston. The curing of fish has 
its peculiarities, and a few words upon this branch of busi- 
ness may not be out of place. Shore fish are brought in 
by the fishermen and sold to buyers, who salt them in 
butts that are tight and made for the purpose. During the 
hot weather in summer it is very difficult to dry the fish 
for market and they have to be kept in salt, covered with 
pickle until cool weather, when they are taken out and 
dried for market. The bank fishermen salt their fish, in 
bulk, in the holds of the vessel, or what is called "kench 
salting." A sufficient quantity of salt is used to keep them 
in good condition, and, as a voyage to the Banks requires 
some months, the cool days will have come before the 
fishermen return. When they do return, their fish are 
ready to be taken out of the vessel and put upon the flakes 
to dry. At Newfoundland and Labrador, the weather 
being cooler through the summer months, fish can be cured 
at all times, and it is from these places we get many of 
our finest dried fish. 



FISH, FISHING STATIONS, & C. 



TWO occupations feed the world, the plowman and the 
fisherman. Timid men plow, brave men fish. It is esti- 
mated that the latter, in all the world, gather from the 
sea, annually, one hundred and forty millions of dollars 
value, in food. Water harvests require no planting or 
seed time, for the sea is generous, " restoring, in one annual 
birth, the vast decay," and no man lifts a hand. Fishing 
is an honorable calling. The apostles, and great folks of 
the world, not apostles, engaged in fishing for food. A 
rich merchant in London, named Tobias, a long while ago, 
got up a plan to make England the wealthiest nation on 
the globe, by embarking, on a large scale, in sea fishing. 
In the old Catholic centuries of Britain, 13th to the 
i6th, fish food predominated over meat. The first market 
in London, called the Stock Market, contained fifty-four 
stalls, thirty-six for fish and eighteen for meat. Indeed, 
through this period, the wealthy people were fish dealers. 
In the fifteenth centurv, the Venetian ambassador to Lon- 
don wrote home to his master hi^ surprise at the wealth 
of the fish-mongers. These men organized their guild in 
the twelfth century, and from that date the city of London 
was permitted to elect its own mayor. Early in the thir- 
teenth century, this ancient company of fish-mongers had 
sixty-six of its members. Lord Mavors, of London, and 



128 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

among them, the renowned Sir William Walworth, who 
slew Wat Tyler, a leader of rebels, in the city of London, 
1 38 1, in the time of young Richard II, Fish was the prin- 
cipal food. An ox averaged three hundred weight, sheep 
twenty-eight pounds, killed, but in one hundred years after 
England became Protestant, meat became general at all 
meals, and improvements carried the ox to seven hundred 
pounds, and sheep to ninety-four pounds. When King 
Henry VIII. organized the English navy, he manned his 
vessels with fishermen, and their wives took their place at 
the net and line on the wide seas. On this continent is 
found the best fishing grounds of the globe — from Nain, 
on Labrador, bordering the Hudson Bay, to Alaska, on 
the Northern Pacific, — and these include the Grand and 
other adjacent banks. At present, fifty-five millions of peo- 
ple in the United States, from these sources, draw their 
fish food. When our population doubles a corresponding 
demand will be made for fish, and the commerce in that 
commodity, to supply the increased population, must neces- 
sarily pass and repass, between Cape Ann and Cape Cod, 
as the grounds for the fish of commerce lie in that direc- 
tion, in the cold waters of the continent north, and no shift 
or drift of a central power in this country, that may carry 
with it commerce, manufactures and population to the 
interior of the continent, can disturb these great fishing 
grounds; a source of inexhaustible wealth for all ages to 
come. A prolific fish commerce will forever pass out and 
in, between the capes, and Gloucester, Portland and Prov- 
incetown, will be populous cities. 

Gloucester. — The foregoing, from a distinguished con- 
tributor to these pages, having included Gloucester in his 
prophecy, an article relating to the place, embracing old 
and new facts, may be interesting. From the voyage of 
Sebastian Cabot, to our eastern coast, in 1497, until that of 
Bart. Gosnold, in 1601, nothing is known regarding the 
discovery of New England. No attempts, indeed, were 



F/SH, FISHING STATIONS, ETC. i2g 

made until Gosnold, that year, passed by what is now 
Cape Ann to the discovery of Cape Cod. It was left to 
the famous John Smith — honored afterwards w^ith the 
empty title of "Admiral of New England," though he was 
denied, by unfavorable circumstances, more than one visit 
— ^to locate Gloucester in 1614, name Cape Ann (as now 
known), " Tragabigzanda," in honor of a Turkish lady, 
who saved his life, (called subsequently, by Prince Charles, 
"Ann," in honor of his mother. Queen Ann), attempt 
fishing settlements in Ipswich Bay, and do many other 
things for which his memory should to-day be honored. 
The first attempted settlement was from 1623 to 1625, and 
from the latter date, probably, Gloucester may reckon its 
beginning. It was of very slow growth for many years, 
alternating between agriculture and fishing, the settlement 
of Scituate, on the bay opposite, being a formidable rival 
on the water, and, though the facilities of harborage and 
convenience to sea made it a natural fishing station, they 
were not availed of to profitable extent, though the gen- 
eral court, at several times, gave its aid and support to the 
fishing enterprise. The territory contained much fertile 
land, and agriculture offered superior inducements. Proba- 
bly the same perils attended the occupation as at the pres- 
ent day, and it was not until a comparatively late period 
that it assumed proportions which have kept on increasing 
until it is the governing business at the present time. 
To show the intimacy of the sea cultivation with that of 
the land, it used to be said, that in planting corn there 
were two kernels of corn and a herring in a hill. Glou- 
cester is the commanding fishing station in our country. 
Eastman, in his "Coast Guide," calls it the second in the 
world. 

Wm. O. Haskell, Esq., now of Mason, N. H., a native 
of Gloucester, has furnished in the following paragraphs, a 
gossippy contribution of interesting items. 

Local Items: — What is now Cape Ann is bounded by 



/j-o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Ipswich Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Massachusetts Bay and the 
towns of Manchester and Essex. The principal settlement is 
Gloucester (or "Cape Ann Harbor" as it was called in early 
days), situated on the south side of the town. The whole 
coast of the peninsula is rock-bound (excepting Coffin's 
Beach at Annisquam, on the northerly side of the cape, that 
being several miles sandy), abounding in coves, inlets, seams 
and cracks — Rafe's crack (named for a man named 
Ralph), a remarkable fissure in the ledge between Nor- 
man's Woe and Kettle Cove, upwards of two hundred feet 
in extent, at right angles with the shore, varying in width 
from three to ten feet. The depth from the top of the 
rock, or hill, in shore to low water, is sixty-six feet, a 
remarkable ledge of large size, compact and of striking 
boldness. The waves rush into this chasm, and, as they 
dash back from the upper end, send out most frightful 
sounds. 

There are several rocking stones hereabouts: one near 
Bass Rocks, at the end of a high ledge jutting out into 
the sea. Its weight is computed at one thousand tons, and 
it has a rocking motion of one inch, which can be effected 
by one hand at low tide. Rev. Cotton Mather called the 
attention of the public to this natural curiosity in his usual 
exaggerated style. At another place on the shore, between 
low and high water marks, stands a rock upon a rock, 
twenty feet .long and ten feet wide, which moves many 
inches as the heavy waves strike its, flat sides. In a pas- 
ture, at the north side of the cape, is a boulder, weighing 
seventy-five to eighty tons, resting upon a level rock, which 
may be set in motion by one person, so as to produce fif- 
teen vibrations. 

The highest elevation in town is a hill in West Parish 
(or "The Precinct"), called Thompson's Mountain, two 
hundred and fifty feet above sea level, affording a very 
extensive view in every direction. On this summit formerly 
stood the "King of Rocking Stones," a small mountain of 



FISH, FISHING STATIONS, ETC. ijr 

itself — a monster and a marvel. The U. S. Signal corps, 
fearing it miglit be an obstruction to their view, had it 
demolished several years ago. "Governor's Hill" is a 
noted eminence in town, where the General Court, durinc- 
the Revolutionary struggle, resolved, April i6th, 1776, 
that a beacon should be erected, '" the selectmen and two 
commissioned officers to have charge, and, when the 
enemy's fleet was discovered, to fire the alarm guns and 
set the bells a ringing." " Pigeon Hill," on the northerly 
part of the cape, is the first land that salutes the eve of 
the mariner as he approaches the coast from the east. 
Here are, likewise, the "Poles" or Poules, and "Farm 
Ledge," large masses commanding the attention of every 
beholder. The rocks of Cape Ann are granite, of a beau- 
tiful dark color and easily wrought. Large quantities are 
quarried, dressed, and sent off to southern and western 
cities. 

The botony of Cape Ann boasts of a rare plant called 
the Magnolia glanca, growing naturally in a swamp at the 
westerly part of the town. It grows about ten feet high 
and bears a beautiful fragrant flower through the whole 
summer season. 

There are but two ponds of magnitude in Gloucester. 
" Cape Pond " is the largest, which is near the easterly 
end of the cape, a charming sheet of water, covering eio-hty 
acres, surrounded by high rocky hills and is a favorite 
resort for parties, celebrations, pic-nics, &c., from surround- 
ing towns and cities, and even as far as Boston. Another 
pond, of smaller size, is on the eastern point, and covers 
most of the width of the land on the point. A very nar- 
row ridge, composed of sand and pebbles, separates it from 
the ocean. At times of unusual high winds, the spray is 
driven over the barrier and mingled with the water of the 
pond. 

The islands near the cape and its harbors are few and 
small. Thatcher's Island, on which are situated two lio-ht 



132 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

houses and a dwelling house, contains eighty-five acres of 
good soil. "Milk Island," south of Thatcher's, is but little 
above the sea. " Kettle Island," owned by John Kettle in 
1634, "Ten Pound Island," on which is a light, and "Five 
Pound Island," are inside the harbor. On the westerly side 
of the harbor, is Norman's Woe, noted for the loss of the 
ship Hesperus, the subject of Longfellow's poem. It is a large 
rock, a few rods from the shore, and connected with it by 
a reef, which the sea leaves bare at low water. 

Rev. John Wyeth, minister of the third parish, was disliked 
by a portion of his society as lacking in sanctified dignity, 
and means were tried to get rid of him : such as firing 
musket balls into his house, and molesting him in various 
ways. It is related that on one occasion his horse could 
not be found by him in the pasture, where he had been 
put with several others, and some of his friends went in 
search of the missing animal, to saddle him for church 
attendance. After a long while he was found with a coat 
of whitewash all over his black hide. This settled his set- 
tlement. 

Persons bearing the name of Haskell seem to have had 
a monopoly of Deaconship, in the several churches. Joseph 
Haskell and Benjamin Haskell were deacons in the first 
parish, and when the second, or new church was formed, 
they became members, and were immediately elected to the 
same office in that. At their decease their places were 
filled by other members of the same family, which kept 
this prominence in the church to the end of its existence. 

The first privilege to build a pew, was sold for twenty 
shillings, to Benjamin Haskell, Jr., Mark Haskell and Wil- 
liam Haskell, 3rd, who were to have the two back seats, 
going in at the west door, " to build a pew for them and 
their wives, and to be seated nowhere else." They had a 
committee to " seat " the people in the meeting house and 
sometimes, by vote of the parish, designated where persons 
should sit. Instance: 1742, Second parish votes that Capt. 



F/SH, FISHING STATIONS, ETC. 133 

William Haskell should sit in the fore seat where Capt. 
Eveleth sits, and that Joseph Haskell should sit in the side 
fore seat, that Mr. Joseph Hibbard's wife move out of the 
lonfT fore seat into the short fore seat. 

Gloucester was famous for smuggling exploits in colonial 
days, as officers of revenue would not be tolerated among 
the inhabitants. A schooner came in from a foreign port 
during the night; the hatches were immediately opened and 
discharge of cargo commenced, and a large portion dis- 
charged and stored before day-break A " tide waiter " was 
expected from Salem in the morning. On the cut was a 
watch-house where a stout Irishman was employed, to stop 
all strangers entering town and subjecting them to fumiga- 
tion on account of small-pox being prevalent. When his 
majesty's officer of the customs arrived, he was ushered 
into the watch-house, kept till after dark, and purified from 
all infectious diseases. The schooner was unloaded and 
hatches secured when the officer found her. 

For Gloucester is claimed the discovery that clams were 
good for bait, Zebulon Haskell, about 1734, being the dis- 
coverer. He left his son on shore, with a rising tide, to 
dig for clams, while he went gunning for ducks. The 
water surrounded the boy and he stood on his pile of 
clams, for protection, of course crushing them. While thus 
situated he saw small fish come and eagerly eat the clams, 
and, when rescued by his father, told him the fact. The 
old man took the hint, stored his cellar with clams and 
crushed them for bait, until his bo}^ got a jackknife and 
opened them, making a business of selling bait to the fish- 
ermen. 

At Chebacco, once a part of Gloucester (now Essex), 
the first " pinkey " or pink-stern schooner, was built, a 
small vessel now almost entirely unknown, but popular in 
old times as a sea-boat. One of these could weather any 
storm and ride the waves like a corked bottle. 

Sandy Bay (now Rockport), is named from some local 

n 



/j^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

association, as there is no sand there to give it its title. 
The probability is, that it is a corruption, or derivative, 
from John Smith's Tragabigzanda, reduced first to ' Bazanda, 
and from this, in time, becoming Sandy Bay. Many accept 
this as the probable fact. 

Among the first Gloucester settlers, named to-day in his- 
tory and tradition, was Capt. Andrew Robinson, grandson 
of Rev. Leyden John, of pilgrim memory, who was a 
remarkable man and a great Indian fighter and strategist. 
He was rewarded by the General Court, in 1730, by a 
gift of 300 acres of land in Worcester county. 

Among the generations of old time Gloucester people, 
were Azarikam Blindman, Ebenezer Goslin, Samuel Absar- 
soak, Robert Scamp, Harlakendere Symonds, and Daubin 
Tarr. 

There was a witch in Gloucester, old time, who, for an 
insult from two soldiers going with Pepperell to Louisburg, 
threatened them with vengeance. At the siege a crow flew 
ominously over their heads, which they shot at but could 
not hit with a leaden bullet. At last one of them loaded 
his gun with a silver sleeve button, and fired, when the 
bird disappeared. Upon returning home they found the 
witch was dead from a gun shot, and the identical button 
was found in the wound ! 

Gloucester's chronology is rich with events, historical and 
traditional, of which but few of Mr. Haskell's gleaning has 
been taken for want of room. The following chapter by a 
Gloucester editor, gives a fine sketch of " The Gloucester 
of To-day." 



THE GLOUCESTER OF TO-DAY 



IF some of the ancient fishermen, who followed fishing 
from this port a century agone, could by some subtle met- 
amorphosis have the power to return to earth, and wander 
about the old spots familiar to their youthful days, what a 
marked change would they observe in the place itself, and 
in everything pertaining to the fishing business. 

Let us imagine one of these old time, weather-beaten 
"toilers of the sea," suddenly awakening and finding him- 
self here in our young city by the sea. The harbor, where 
he spent so many hours of his earthly pilgrimage, sailing 
in and out, with his good luck and his bad luck, in sum- 
mer's heat and winter's cold, would, undoubtedly, first 
attract his attention. We can imagine his great surprise as 
he wanders around the wharves. All is change. But lit- 
tle remains to-day to remind him of his day and genera- 
tion. In place of the few insignificant landing places, which 
memory holds dear, he finds the entire harbor front, the 
old Fort, and all, lined with well built wharves, covered 
with spacious warehouses. The old moorings with their 
" stumps " used for fastening boats to, have been built over 
and disappeared. Instead of the small craft emploved in 
his day, his eyes shine with delight as they take in the 
gracefully modeled, able looking yacht-like vessels of the 
present fishing fleet, as they come sailing up the harbor. 



/j6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The marine railways would astonish them; the steamers 
of the Gloucester Steamboat Co., with their loads of fish 
en route for Boston, from whence it is distributed all over 
the country, or gliding in with their freight of supplies for 
the vessels. The tow-boats steaming along would fill the 
old fisherman with wonderment. The salt ships, laying at 
anchor, or discharging their cargoes, would also give him 
an opportunity for thought. Surprise would hold him cap- 
tive, and, as he walked around in quest of something which 
would prove familiar, he would become more and more 
dazed. He reaches one of the Halibut Company's Wharves, 
and gazes with wonder at the extreme celerity with which 
a fresh halibut trip is landed, iced, packed and shipped; 
he visits the canning establishment, the oil factories, the 
box factory, the net and twine manufactories, wuth their 
cunning mechanism and labor saving machines, the bone- 
less fish establishments, where fish are stripped of their 
skins, divested of their bones, and placed in neat packages, 
and shipped with marvelous speed. Everything is changed 
except the fish themselves. He handles the cod and rec- 
ognizes an old friend. There is no change there. He is 
the same old fish which he pulled up from many fathoms 
down, when he, too, was a factor of this fishing sport, and 
lived his life, and passed on to that country where all the 
living will follow. He asks questions, and then he realizes 
that there is a great change in the catching of the fish, the 
handling, and all the modus operandi of the business. It 
has been revolutionized, and the bustle and activity which 
meets him on every hand, makes him feel uncomfortable 
and out of his reckoning, and the old man, tired with his 
tramp, disappointed, as he surely is, in not meeting with 
any of the old familiar faces which were wont to greet 
him, begins to feel lonesome, and is not sorry when his 
time is up, and he takes his departure from scenes which 
have only served to remind him that he belongs to another 
age entirely. 



THE GLOUCESTER OF TO-DAT. rjy 

A few statistics will not be amiss, to give some idea of 
the change of tonnage and catch, of the day when the old 
man was in his prime, and of to-day. At the outbreak of 
the Revolutionary war, the tonnage of Gloucester was esti- 
mated at 4,800 tons, represented by 150 schooners and 
boats, employing some 600 men. The yearly product may 
be estimated at 48,000 quintals of fish, of a value of 
$100,000. 

To-day Cape Ann has the finest fishing fleet of any port 
in the world, and the largest in the United States. There 
are 501 schooners and boats, aggregating 30,827.02 tons. 
There are 48 fitting out establishments. Employment is 
given to nearly 7,000 men, including those on shore who 
are engaged in handling the fish. During the year 1883 
there was landed, on an average, 130 tons of fish per day, 
Sundays included, which formed a fine food product, valued 
in round numbers at nearly $5,000,000. This will give some 
conception of the importance of this industry to the country 
at large, and the great need of protecting it from such 
foreign competition as seeks its own aggrandizement. 



FISH WEIRS. 



MENTION is made, in several places along the pages of 
this book, of Fish Weirs, by means of which much of the 
fish that supplies our markets is taken, without which, it is 
to be feared, we should often have an inadequate amount. 
Though long employed for taking fish, the importance of 
fish weirs has not, until recently, been fully recognized. 
The immense demand attendant on the growth of our 
country, in point of numbers and appetites, has called for 
increased efforts to meet it (or fish it), and a monstrous 
" catch " is the result. Through its agency we have a con- 
stant and abundant supply of many varieties of the fish 
known to our waters, and at rates so low that none need 
be debarred from their enjo3'ment. The trawl divides, with 
the weir, the credit of this, but that is onl}^ employed in 
deep-sea fishing, and they work separately for the general 
good, of which the poor, especially, reap the benefit. The 
family of no man, who has five cents in his pocket, need 
go without a good fish dinner. However great the draft 
made upon the briny capital, and notwithstanding the fear 
lest it be exhausted by the demand upon it, there is no 
evidence of its diminution. The increased demand does not 
seem to affect it any, and opposition, at first active against 
these extra appliances, has measurably died out. 

That the early Indians used weirs, of a simple form, as 



FISH WEIRS. 



^39 



well as the spear and hook, for the capture of their fish, is 
proved by relics of their fish-craft, occasionally found on 
streams by which they camped to procure their winter sup- 
phes; probably unlike the weirs of to-day, but sufficient 
for their simple need. At the outlet of Lake Winnipiseo- 
gee, where the water leaves for the Merrimac, the remain- 
ders of such weirs have existed until within a few years, 
that have given the name, " The Weirs" to a station on 
the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad. It is true, 
authorities differ regarding their aboriginal claim, but the 
traces of these old weirs bore evidence of sufficient anti- 
quity to warrant the assumption. The construction of weirs 
as now generally made, which last localil}^ endeavors to 
improve, is as follows: 

It consists of what is called a pocket and two leaders, 
the leaders conducting into the pocket. They are made of 
coarse twine net work, and the meshes are about one and 
one-half-inches, or small enough to pre;vent the meshing of 
diminutive fish. One of the leaders runs out from the 
land, in a straight line, a distance of one hundred yards or 
more. The network is attached to long poles, which are 
set deep in the sand and project above the surface of the 
water high enough to be above the tides. The other 
leader is laid out in nearly the form of a circle, with a 
circumference of two or three hundred yards, there being 
an opening on the shore side, into which the first named 
leader enters. Inside of the circular leader is the pocket, 
or "trap," in which the fish are caught. The entrance of 
this pocket is wide enough to admit a small boat. The 
pocket is attached to poles and set in the sand, similar to 
the leaders. Every pole has attached to it a line and 
anchor to keep it permanently fixed. Fish, on striking 
these leaders from any point, follow them along, attempt- 
ing to get by. If they strike the straight leader, and fol- 
low it to the shore, they turn and follow it back, which 
takes them into the other leader. Here thev soon strike 



I40 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

the network of the pocket, which they follow, and find 
themselves inside, completely entrapped, with not a chance 
for escape. There being a bottom to the pocket, there is 
no way for the fish to get out, except by that through 
which it got in. It requires four or live men, with two 
boats, to tend a weir, one boat a dory, the other a larger 
and stronger one to carry away the fish. The weir is 
visited every morning, and the pocket is entered at the 
same opening employed by the fish. When inside, the 
men haul up a door made of network, which closes the 
entrance. They then take hold of the pocket at one side 
and gather it up until they get the fish into as small a 
compass as possible, when they pass them into the boats 
with dip-nets. 

By a letter and diagram that I have received from a 
gentleman at Cape Cod, ^ — written at the request of E. H. 
Brazier, Esq., of Chelsea, a sojourner during the summer 
at Orleans, — I am enabled to present the Cape Cod 
method, between which and that of places to the eastward 
there is little difference. The '^ pockets " at the Cape are 
called " pounds." The " gathering " is done by attaching the 
net to the fear of wagons going in different directions which 
bring the fish to the centre. In plentiful seasons, Mr. Brazier 
informs the writer, the amount of blue fish and mackerel caught 
is enormous. On one occasion a large number of carts 
were driven down into the enclosure, and loaded with large 
fresh blue-fish pitched on with hay forks. This is doing 
grand business by the " pound." 

The f olio win rr is the substance of the letter alluded to 
which was accompanied by a diagram of the pound, which 
is here introduced: 

" From the shore to the outer end of the Aveir is one mile. The little pound 
is about seventv-five feet across. The big pound about two hundred feet. It 
requires for the whole weir two thousand poles ; for the little pound thirty 
long and two hundred short poles, for the big pound, two hundred long and 
three hundred and fifty short. It requires three hundred and fifty short poles 
for the wingers, and nine hundred for the leader. The short poles are set 






LITTLE •, • 
POUND ll 



••• •• 

•• WINGER ••• 



LARGE POUND 






" • • • • 
• • • • 



111 

O 

0. 



f^ 



• , • 

• • • • 

.' • WINGER *. • 
•« ••• •- 

• • • • • . •• 



u 

o 

X 
</i 

IL 
U. 

O 



SHORE 

18 



142 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

about three feet apart, while the long poles are set nine feet apart. It requires 
twenty thousand laths for the whole weir. When a weir is set a hole is 
dug about two feet deep, then the pole is placed in it with the pin about six 
inches from the surface. Then two small boards are placed over the pin, and 
two men standing on them settle the pole into the sand six inches more. 
When the pole is deep enough some hay is thrown upon the pin and then 
covered with sand, thus fastening the pole solid in the sand. 

Around the pounds, close to the laths, hay is thrown and over this some 
heavy stones, to prevent the tide from gullying the sand. 

Between the poles, the laths, split in two, are worked in, and the long poles 
are to put nets on, stretching to the short ones, to prevent the fish from escap- 
ing over the top at tides that sometimes rise over the shorter poles. The out- 
side poles are some two feet higher than the inner. The poles are young trees, 
and strong to resist the waves. When the tide flows in, the fish follow to 
near shore, and striking the line of poles follow it down the pounds, where 
thev are left bv the tide." 



On the Connecticut river, and other streams where the 
festive shad abounds, weirs in some form are employed, 
and on the Penobscot, the lordly salmon is misled by false 
leaders to his ruin. The weirs there are framed sunken 
structures, with loose board bottoms, that rise and fall with 
the tide, regulated by weight, a pocket, or pound, of one 
of which broke away in a storm, not long since, and drifted 
upon an island near the mouth of the river, where it lay 
upon the rocks, as a summer resident informed me, like an 
exaggerated hay cart, the slats intact. These weirs, how- 
ever, are not frequent, as the seals are dear lovers of sal- 
mon, and when they find a lot impounded they invade the 
precinct and bite a piece out of the throats of the captives, 
which kills them and renders them untit for the market. 

On the Columbia river, what is called a weir is used for 
taking salmon, in some places, where available, but it bears 
no relation to the weirs of which our fishers know any- ' 
thing. It consists of a large wheel of ten feet diameter, 
with blades, or scoops, five feet wide, made of coarse wire 
netting, framed in enough wood to be moved by the cur- 
rent in which it is stationed. This wheel is placed where 
the water runs rapidly, but it does not offer resisting force 



FISH WEIRS. 



143 



enough to be ver}' quick in its motion, and the salmon, 
which alwa3'S hugs the shore, gets into one of these revolv- 
ing pockets before he knows it, and is landed in some 
receptacle prepared for him. I learned this from a not very 
observing man, who only carried the general idea in his 
mind, but it warrants the behef that there must be some- 
thing in it. 

But there is no sport in weir fishing, anyhow, and 
nothing but business necessity can justify it. There is so 
much cruel waste in it, there are such multitudes of fish 
that are thrown away, such multitudes of young fish that 
are prematurely cut off, that the method seems revolting; 
but the people must be fed, and therefore the weirs have 
the popular verdict. 




THE BRIGHT SIDE OF FISHING. 



A Summer Incident. — August 31st, '83. While the 
gay carnival of the yachts, and other racing, was going on 
at Old Orchard, the Jennie B. was anchored in the bay 
and in a position where aU could be seen and enjoyed, and, 
at the same time, her genial party indulged in the excellent 
sport of mackerel catching. 

The day will long be remembered by those whose priv- 
ilege it was to be there and "wet a line." The catch was 
a good one for the season, resulting in some noble speci- 
mens, a few weighing as much as two pounds each, and 
perhaps a hundred of ordinary size, and two hundred 
" tinkers." 

The day following, September ist, we started for the 
outside fishing grounds. This time I had as a companion 
Mr. H. L. Johnson, banker, of New York City. The 
start was not very early (6:30, a. m.), and with a moder- 
ate breeze we sailed out of the harbor, passing Wood 
Island about 7 o'clock. Our progress, owing to ver}^ 
light winds, was slow indeed, as it took us nearly four 
hours to reach the vicinity of the fishing ground, commonly 
known as the Peak, distance eight miles from the Pool: 
then the misty condition of the atmosphere shut out the 
shore marks, and we thought it was to be " all day " with 
us as regarded fishing, but, fortunately, we espied a vessel 



THE BRIGHT SIDE OF FISHING. 145 

at anchor and ran down and spoke her. She proved to 
be a fisherman, and our captain shouted: 

"On what grounds are you anchored?" 

" On the Peak," was the quick response. 

"How long have you been on the ground.^" 

" Since yesterday morning." 

"Any luck?" 

"Yes, have had some luck; nothing extra, though." 

"How's the water?" 

"Well, say about forty fathoms. I am not on the shoal 
ground; if you run a little to the southward you will find 
about thirt}^ fathoms and that is the shoalest ground." 

Our captain had received all the information he wanted, 
as he was familiar with the shoal when once he was upon 
it, and ran down about a quarter of a mile, when, without 
sounding, he rounded to, lowered jib, and hove the anchor. 

When the Jennie B. fetched up, all fast, the fore and 
mainsail were clewed up for business. We had brought up 
just where we wished to be, in twenty-nine fathoms of 
water. The bait we had was the mackerel caught the da^- 
before, in quantity about one and one-half bushels, iced 
down solid. Almost as soon as our lines were upon the 
bottom the cod and pollock began to respond, and thev 
were good samples. We had the dog-fish to fight and 
skates to haul in and take off, but, notwithstanding these 
annoyances, we caught thirteen hundred pounds of as 
handsome cod and pollock as were ever landed at the Pool. 
It was, indeed, a busy day. Our record in round numbers 
was as follows: One cod-fish 60 pounds; seven aggregat- 
ing 200 pounds; eight haddock, about 6 pounds each: 
forty-three pollock, average 20 pounds each; cod-fish, from 
6 to 12 pounds, making up the balance. We up anchor 
at 4, p. M., and had a good breeze home. The men split 
and put the fish in pickle the same night. 

In speaking of the " bright side of fishing," the term is 
not always the result of days of bright weather and pleas- 



146 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

ant seas, for though these conduce very much to the enjoy- 
ment of the amateur sport, to the yachtman and fisherman 
that day is the brightest that brings the best luck, and, 
absorbed by his calling and hauling, the scene outside 
enters very little into his thought. The two da3^s described 
in the foregoing, presented the two phases of a fisherman's 
life, or both sides of the question, and whether, during the 
pleasant inroads upon the mackerel, with a yacht-race 
thrown in under a bright sky, or the next day in the fog 
upon the Peak fishing ground, to him both were alike 
bright. The weather, on return, was but an incident in 
the brightness of which the " catch " was chief. 

Mrs. Anne Bradstreet, the wife of Gov. Bradstreet, who 
wrote about the middle of the seventeenth century, had 
some nice ideas regarding fish and the pleasures of the sea. 
She thus versifies: 

" Ye Fish which in this hquid region 'bide, 

That for each season have your habitation, 
Now salt, now fresh, where you think best to glide 

To unknown coasts to give a visitation, 
In lakes and ponds you leave your numerous fry. 
So nature taught, and yet you know not why, 
You watery folk that know not your felicity. 

" Look how the wantons frisk to taste the air, 

Then to the colder bottom straight they dive, 
Up soon to Neptune's glassie Hall repair. 

To see what trade the great ones there do drive. 
Who forrage o'er the spacious sea-green field. 
And take the trembling prey before it yield, 
Whose armour is their scales, their spreading fins their shield." 

Then follows a prophetic view of yachting, with a moral 
quite effectively drawn: 

"The Mariner that on smooth waves doth glide, 

Sings merrily, and steers his barque with ease, 
As if he had command of wind and tide. 

And now become great Master of the seas ; 
But suddenly a storm spoils all the sport, 
And makes him long for a more quiet port, 
Which 'gainst all adverse winds may serve as a fort. 



THE BRIGHT SIDE OF FISHING. 147 

" So he that sailetli in this world of pleasure, 

Feeding on sweets, that never bit of th ' sowre, 
That 's full of friends, of honour and of treasure, 

Fond fool, he takes this earth ev'n for heaven's bower. 
But sad affliction comes and makes him see 
Here's neither honour, wealth nor safety; 
Only above, is found all with security." 

Joseph Green, a funny rhymer in the latter part of the 
eighteenth century, wrote some verses parodying others of 
a serious nature, by Rev. Mather Byles, the Tory Parson, 
of which are two, as follows: 

" With vast amazement we survey 

The wonders of the deep. 
Where mackerel swim, and porpoise play, 

And crabs and lobsters creep. 

Fish of all kinds inhabit here, 

And throng the dark abode : 
Here haddock, hake, and flounders are, 

And eels, and perch, and cod." 

The author must have had Biddeford Pool in his mind 
when he wrote. 




THE DARK SIDE OF FISHING. 



This is illustrated often — far too often — by the experi- 
ences of those who pursue fishing as a profession, who are 
called to push their prows into perilous waters where the 
fish abound, and find disaster, fully as often as luck, await- 
ing them. The yearly record of wreck and widowhood at 
Gloucester seems almost enough to turn men from seeking 
fortune — so small at best — on the treacherous Georges. 
Yet there seems no diminution of the number that, year by 
year, go to what so frequently proves their doom. This 
story of peril and hardship is from the Vinalhaven Wind, 
and is but one of many occurrences of a similar nature, 
which interest and shock the reader: 

A NIGHT ON THE GEORGES. 
It would be hard to name a branch of business in the known world that is 
attended with so much loss of life and property as that of the fisheries. The 
fishinof vessels of to-day are models of beauty and staunchness, and to watch 
them sail away in the summer for mackerel, and return in the fall, with colors 
flaunting in the breeze and a full trip, one gets an idea that such a vocation 
must be pleasant and profitable, and it generally is such. We've often heard 
men engaged in this branch of the business relate the pleasure and excitement 
it affords, although the autumn months are often accompanied by high winds 
and rough waters, with more or less danger. This might well be called the 
bright side of the picture. But to the fisherman, with a family dependent 
upon him, who has to resort to winter fishing for a livelihood, the scene is alto- 
o-ether changed. Then the placid summer sky and balmy breezes give place 
to boisterous winds, thick driving snow storms, and terrible gales, which are 
always accompanied with more or less loss of life and property. We are not 



THE DARK SIDE OF FISHING. i^g 

much acquainted with this business, only by observation, which teaches us 
that the man who earns his living by Georges or Bank fishing in the winter 
season, veritably takes his life in his hands. The recent purchase in this vicin- 
ity of schooner Chas. Haskell, has led to the writing of this sketch, and 
although what we are about to relate happened years ago, it will be new to 
manv and interesting to all our readers. To begin with, the above named ves- 
sel has had the most remarkable escape ever known in the history of Georges 
fishing, that of having collided with another vessel, and escaping compara- 
tively unharmed. We give the story, as told by W. H. Paige, of this town, 
who was one of the crew of the Chas. Haskell at the time: 

"It was Saturday, the 6th day of March, 1869. I remember it well ; there 
was a light breeze from the eastward, and we had quite good fishing. 
Towards evening the wind increased to a gale, accompanied by driving sleet 
and snow, and it was almost impossible for a man to stand on the deck. Any 
person experienced in such inatters, knows, that by placing your foot on the 
hawser, you can tell if the vessel is dragging her anchor; knowing this, and 
that we were likely to drag, I sprang into the cabin, procured a hatchet, and 
stood ready to cut our hawser at a moment 's warning. The usual signs failed, 
and I left the post to some other. While going aft, I noticed that we seemed 
to be drifting, for I could see the lights on other vessels as we went by them. 
Examination proved that we were drifting, and I am positive that other ves- 
sels cut their cables for us, that is, to get out of our way. The wind was 
slowly hauling to the north, and we cut, at the same time running up our fore- 
sail, intending to fill away to the south-east, but instead, our vessel drew away 
to the north-west, and we had to let her go. ^y this time the wind was blow- 
ing so furious and the hail was so blinding that we could scarcely see more 
than our vessel's length in any direction. The captain had the wheel, and 
about 10 o'clock the lookout saw a light, and thinking it was a vessel at 
anchor, he immediately sang out " Hard up!" which was as quickly responded 
to. If the other vessel had been at anchor, as we thought she was, we could 
easily have cleared her, but, as it afterward proved, she was under sail, and 
running in an opposite direction from us, she came on across our bow, as if 
courting destruction. Soon there was a crash, and it seemed that as our ves- 
sel was in the trough of a huge wave, the other must have been on the crest of 
it, and we pierced her just below the water-line, just abaft the fore-rigging, 
breaking our bowsprit short off. The next wave rising threw our vessel for- 
ward and we struck her again about midships. I asked the captain if the 
wheel was hard up, and he answered that it was, at the same time saying, 
" We've done all we can do." The other vessel (the name of which we never 
learned) went down in less time than it takes to tell it, and her crew found a 
watery grave. We of course expected to go, but we came out all right, except 
the injuries to our vessel, which were numerous. The fact of our vessel keep- 
ing head on, and the breaking of our bowsprit, is in my opinion all that saved 
us, for if we had swung alongside the other, we should have surely met the 
same fate. We heard no human outcry, nor saw any signs of life on the other 
vessel, only I thought that just for an instant I saw the dim outlines of two 
men, and then all was dark. After the accident, I had the wheel all night 

19 



ISO GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

until 3:30 in the morning, and such a night I liope never to experience again. 
By morning the wind was north-west, and it was so bitter cold, that our watch 
was reduced to 15 minutes a man. On summing up the extent of our damage 
Ave found that our bowsprit, jib, mainboom, boat and every movable thing on 
deck were gone ; even the planks, used for cutting bait on, that were spiked to 
the house, were washed away, and our forward planking was badly started. 
Our destination now was Gloucester, but having only one whole sail, our pro- 
gress was slow, and on Wednesday night, the loth, we were hove to in 
another gale, blowing from the south-east. 'Twas a severe one, but we lived 
through it, and arrived at Gloucester early the following Saturday. 

Co-incidental with the foregoing is the following descrip- 
tion of the perilous position of one of our own Maine fisher- 
men, his escape from which seems most marvelous. The 
old New Hampshire Gazette tells it in the man's own 
words — Mr. David Briggs, of the sloop Maine Girl : 

ADRIFT IN A DORY. 

" I left the sloop Maine Girl,'' said Mr. Briggs, "at about ten o'clock Thurs- 
day morning to go to my trawls, and had commenced hauling them when 
they parted. I then rowed to the middle buoy and hauled two tubs of trawls, 
getting about five hundred pounds of fish ; then jogged around to find the 
boat. The wind <it that time was blowing north-east, and I went towai-d the 
Shoals, as I supposed; could not see anj'thing, as the snow was falling in huge 
flakes, and so thick that an object ten feet off could not be discerned. I rowed 
for several hours, and not inaking land gave myself up as lost. About half an 
hour before dark I sighted what I supposed to be Whalesback light, but on 
seeing breakers found I was mistaken ; it was probably the Newburyport 
light that I saw. I came to an anchor, and laid all night until five o'clock 
Friday morning, when I let the boat drift toward Halibut Point, Cape Ann. 
I could see the shore and could tell by the lay of the land where I was. I 
commenced rowing again, and attempted to get into Rockport, but the wind 
was blowing a gale from the north-west and a strong tide was running from 
the shore, heading me off. I again came to an anchor at half-past eight 
o'clock, laid there about half an hour, and then cut loose and started for 
Thatcher's Island, but could not reach it, and was drifted down toward the 
Salvages. When about half a mile inside of the Salvages I saw the steamer 
City of Portland about one-quarter of a mile from me ; I put up an oar as a 
signal of distress, and the steamer backed down toward me and thrcAv a line 
over the stern, which I caught and held on to until they lowered a boat and 
took me on board. I was in an exhausted condition, wet through to the skin, 
and do not think I could have lived two hours longer. It was half-past nine 
o'clock Friday forenoon when I was picked up. It was severely cold during 
the night and morning, and when laying at anchor in the night I was pad- 
dling around most of the time, and would occasionally for a few minutes lie 
down in the bows of the dory to rest — but did not allow myself to go to 



THE DARK SIDE OF FISHING. 



^51 



sleep. The spray would fly over me, fonning iee, and completely wetting me 
to the skin. To attempt to describe the sensation of fear and hope when out 
in an open dory, in a cold winter night, knocked about on a sea roughened 
with combing waves, and winds blowing fiercely from the shore, could hardly 
be illustrated by an expert in word-painting, and fully realized only by those 
who have had similar experience. I feel deeply indebted to the captain and 
officers of the steamer City of Portland who so kindly cared for me, and to 
the many friends who have given me a generous sympathy since my return 
home." 

The Banks of Newfoundland are about one thousand 
miles from the New England coast. Great Bank, the 
largest of which extends north and south about six hundred 
miles, and east and west some two hundred, lying south- 
east of Newfoundland. The Banks, or Georges, seem to 
be an especial rendezvous of fish, particularly cod. Though 
fished, for two centuries, by multitudes of fishermen, there 
is no sign of abatement, and hence the Georges possess 
great attraction to those who desire large fares and quick 
returns, and dare its perils of fog, storm and ice for its 
fortunate promise. 




FROM BIDbEFORD POOL TO BOOTHBAY. 



WE are off for a trip to the eastward in the Jennie B. 
Geo. W. Coburn, of Boston, and myself talked the matter 
over after breakfast, and we concluded to take a little 
excursion to Squirrel Island, which lies at the entrance of 
Townsend Harbor, Boothbay. We started precisely at 
10:15, A. M., sailed down through the anchored shipping 
in the harbor, and with a fair wind were soon out upon 
the ocean. At 12:15 we had made good headway. The 
wind blowing fresh from the south-west made the sea 
pretty "choppy," but the Jennie B. bounded gracefully 
over the waves. Our course carried us three miles from 
Cape Elizabeth, on which two light-houses have been 
erected. These light-houses mark the entrance to Portland 
Harbor, and are also a guide to ship-masters when on this 
part of the coast. At 12:30, p. m., we were opposite 
Harps well, ten miles distant, while Orr's Island (made 
famous by Mrs. H. B. Stowe's story, "The Pearl of Orr's 
Island"), loomed up in the distance. 

The Jennie B. was "balling it off," as the old sailors 
say, at the rate of seven knots an hour. At 12:50, p. m., 
the wind had increased, and the captain thought it would 
be well to reef the mainsail. This work was done in a 
very short time, and we were gliding along pretty fast. 
The pleasures of sailing cannot be fairly appreciated by 



FROM BIDDEFORD POOL TO BOOTHBAT. /j'j 

those who are unable to stand the pitching and tossing 
motion. But to one who can stand this, it is charming. 

Mr. Coburn had been watching with much interest the 
progress we were making, but feeling somewhat tired he 
concluded to lie down on deck and take a rest. But just 
as he had fairly settled down for a little quiet, a white cap 
splashed over the side, which brought him to his feet very 
quickly. At 2:15 we were nearly opposite Seguin Island. 
This Island, which lies three miles south from the mouth of 
the Kennebec River, is really pretty. Towering above the 
ocean with its bold, rocky headlands, it marks the approach 
to the Kennebec and Sheepscott rivers. On the highest 
point of the island stands a grey stone light-house, which, 
by night, throws its rays for miles across the sea. 

Four hours only had been occupied in running down 
from Biddeford Pool to Seguin, thirty miles. And so far 
it had indeed been very pleasant. And I can say that I 
enjoyed myself every moment of the time. 

Passing inside Seguin Island, we found very rough water. 
This is caused by the strong ebb tide that empties the 
waters of the Kennebec at this point, and the fresh south- 
erly breeze that was blowing in an opposite direction. At 
3:05, p. M., we passed the steamer City of Richmond, from 
Mt. Desert, bound to Portland. At this point we passed 
two ledges, that lie to the eastward of Seguin, two miles 
distant, completely covered with sea-gulls. The captain 
remarked that he thought the gulls were holding a caucus. 
I assented to this remark, and hoped there would be no 
foul (fowl) play used, as each one presented his bill, and 
discussed the prospect of a good fish-dinner at the end of 
the session. Continuing on our course, we crossed Sheep- 
scott Bay, passed in by the Cuckolds and came to anchor 
in the little harbor at Squirrel Island at 4, p. ini., having 
spent only five and three-fourths hours from the time we 
left the Pool. 

No sooner was our anchor fast on bottom, than dinner 



1^4. GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

was announced. This was a welcome sound, for with 
pitching, rolling, and the exhilarating breeze, our appetites 
had not suffered in the least, and we were ready, with 
thankful hearts, to accept the invitation to supply the wants 
of the inner man. 

After dinner Mr. Coburn and myself went on shore to 
take a survey of the island with its surroundings. Squirrel 
Island is a place of considerable note. A few years ago a 
party of gentlemen from Lewiston purchased the island 
for a summer resort. Since that time, some seventy-tive 
fine cottages have been built. These, together with the 
chapel, store and large hotel, give to the island the appear- 
ance of a small "City by the Sea." No one is allowed to 
build here unless it is conformable to the pleasure of all 
concerned, and the best sanitary measures are in force at 
all times. And as far as we could learn, the best of order 
prevails. One great feature of the place is that ho intox- 
icating drinks can be bought there. This rule, I am glad 
to say, is strictly enforced. We found a comfortable library 
and reading room, and everything around had the appear- 
ance of comfort and contentment, with nothing to mar the 
pleasure of those who seek this place for recreation in 
summer. I made inquiries for the Messrs. Dingley, of 
Lewiston, Maine, editors of the Squirrel Island Squid, but 
was informed that they left for their homes the day before, 
and the office of the Squirrel Island Squid, published there 
weekly, through the summer months, was closed. I how- 
ever obtained a few back numbers, which I found very 
interesting and spicy. 

Should any of my readers visit this part of Maine, they 
must not forget to take a trip to Squirrel Island, for I 
think it is a beautiful place. The air is salubrious, there 
is good fishing, boating and bathing, and much to amuse 
and instruct the student of nature. The southern part of 
the island presents a bold front to the sea, and, when old 
ocean is wild, it is a grand sight to see the waves leap 



FROM BIDDEFORD POOL TO BOOTHBAT. /jj 

and bound against the rocky heights. Some days hundreds 
of vessels pass the island on their way to and from the 
harbor. 

After a short stay on the island we returned on board 
the Jennie B., got under way and took a run up to the 
harbor, passing on our way Burnt Island, on which a light- 
house has been erected, and Mouse Island, which is a well- 
known summer resort. On this island a fine hotel has been 
built, and, during the summer months, hundreds of pleas- 
ure-seekers find this quiet place just suited to their wants. 
Mr. Geo. W. W. Dove, of Andover, stopped here in the 
summer of 1881, when on his canoe trip from Boston to 
Mt. Desert. 

Continuing on our course for a short time, we rounded 
to and anchored in one of the finest harbors on the coast 
of Maine. 

Townsend harbor is too well known to ship-masters to 
need any comments from me. But a few words to those 
who have never found here a sheltering place from the 
storm, or a quiet anchorage for the night, may not be out 
of place. I am informed by good authority, that more 
than five hundred vessels have been at anchor here at one 
time. When once entered we found our craft land-locked, 
and we were safe from any wind, let it come from what 
quarter it might. Easy of access, and deep water, make it 
truly a refuge for sailors, from the storm. 

The town of Boothba}- is situated on the coast of Maine, 
between the Damariscotta and Sheepscott rivers. There are 
many fine islands and harbors within its jurisdiction, the more 
prominent one being Squirrel Island. It has a number of 
pleasant villages, located on the east and west sides. Ship- 
building has been carried on quite extensively, years past, 
in different parts of the town, and from the ship-yards at 
Hodgsdon's mills and the harbor, many fine crafts have 
been launched. Fishing has also been pursued with more 
or less success. But no part of the town has so man\- 



JS6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

attractions as West Boothbay, situated at the head of 
Townsend Harbor, where our little craft lay at anchor. 
This part of the town has undergone a wonderful change 
within twenty-five years. From a few houses, and one or 
two small stores, the town has increased so that, at the 
present time, hundreds of nice cottages, several fine hotels, 
large roomy stores, restaurants and billiard halls, meet the 
eye on every hand. This has been accomplished by energy 
and enterprise. And where these are put forth, coupled 
with perseverance, prosperity is sure to follow. 

During the summer months a steamer touches here 
twice a day, on her way to and from Portland, A small 
passenger steamer also makes two trips from Bath, landing 
passengers at Mouse and Squirrel islands, and stopping at 
the harbor over night. A pleasant ride takes one to the 
depot, where cars can be taken for most any point. We 
went on shore to telegraph to our families of our safe ar- 
rival. After leaving the telegraph office we ascended the 
hill, just back of the village, and got a fine view of the 
harbor and surrounding country. Squirrel and Mouse 
islands looked finely in the distance. The shipping in the 
harbor presented a beautiful appearance — one hundred and 
fifty fishing vessels, besides coasters, yachts and smaller 
craft, all anchored for the night. These, with the little vil- 
lages in front, and on either hand, were a grand sight. 

Night was drawing near and warned us that we must 
be moving. We descended the hill and walked down 
through the principal street, meeting group after group of 
fishermen. We could not help noticing the contrast 
between these hardy sons of the sea, men of different 
nationalities, clad in their fishing clothes and sailor garb, 
and the finely clothed yachtsmen, who were perambulating 
the streets. We visited a few stores, and found they kept 
everything to supply the wants of those that live here, as 
well as those that seek this place for a harbor. Ship- 
chandlers, sail-makers, ship-smiths, spar-makers, grocers and 



FROM BIDDEFORD POOL TO BOOTHBAY 



157 



dry-goods merchants are found here, ready at all times to 
attend to the wants of the shipping interest. Many vessels 
put in here for repairs, and just west of the village is a 
railway for hauling out vessels that need repairing, paint- 
ing, &c. 

We called upon Mr. Fisher, who was formerly proprie- 
tor of a hotel here, but now keeps a large grocer}- and 
furnishing house, and found him to be very genial and 
sociable, and we sat down and had a real, right-good, 
square Yankee talk with him. 

Sixteen years ago Capt. Frank, then in command of the 
sloop-yacht E. Lawson, was detained here one week by 
the fog. Maj. A. W. Pearson, of Quinc}-, Illinois, was 
with him, and they stopped at Fisher's Hotel during their 
stay. Maj. Pearson wrote a poem, giving a graphic 
description of the "Cruise of the Lawson." Mr. Fisher 
was very enthusiastic when speaking about the major, and 
his stay at the hotel; and I am sure that this evening's 
entertainment will not be readily effaced from my memory. 

Mr. Coburn concluded to stop on shore for the night, 
and I returned on board the Jennie B., somewhat fatigued 
from the toils of the day, feeling that I could get a good 
night's rest in the cabin. 



HOMEWARD BOUND. 

Saturday, Sept. 2xd. 
At the call of the mornino- watch we were soon on 
deck, and Frank, taking the small boat, went on shore for 
Mr. Coburn. They soon returned on board, and at 5 130, 
A. M., we weighed anchor and filled away on our home- 
ward course. The wind was light, but fortunately in our 
favor, and bid fair to continue so, at least until we should 
reach the open sea. Most of the mackerel fleet were under 
way, and, like ourselves, were moving slowly down the 



1^8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

harbor. Passing out by Mouse Island we continued on 
our course, while the fleet made its way. out to the east- 
ward. This was really a splendid sight: nearly two hun- 
dred sails moving so majestically out by the islands to the 
open sea beyond. We were soon off Squirrel Island, and 
at 6:30, A. M., passed Cape Newaggen and the Cuckolds. 
The morning air, beautiful ocean scenery, and the prospect 
of a good run to Wood Island, made us all feel happy as 
well as hungry, for our appetites were pretty keen. 

At 7, A. M., breakfast was announced, and you may be 
sure we were not backward in partaking of this meal, 
admirably prepared by our cook. At 8:05, a. m., we 
passed Seguin Island and shaped our course for the Pool 
with a fair but hght wind. In the distance the sea was 
dotted with white sails all bent upon some errand. Three 
small steam-tugs enlivened the scene with their quick 
motion. One large three-masted schooner was seen coming 
out of the Kennebec River in tow by a tug. At 9:15, a. 
M., we were well up with Small Point, and the view of 
the coast was delightful. Just back of us old Seguin tow- 
ered up, and looked like a mountain placed in the midst of 
the sea. The bluff headlands of Cape Small Point stood 
out in bold relief against the clear autumnal sky. Mark 
Island, Ragged Island and Roaring Bull were full in view, 
while the distant shore loomed up with a beauty and 
grandeur that delighted the soul. At 10:15, a. m., we 
were four miles south of Halfway Rock; but the breeze 
that had wafted us so pleasantly on our course thus far 
had entirely left us, and, to use the words of the skipper, 
it was " calm as a clock." Seeing that we could make no 
headway, I took my line and remarked to Mr. Coburn, 
" Now, Mr. Coburn, you are very fond of tish, and I will 
see that you have a nice cod for dinner." But fancy my 
feelings when I got soundings, and found my lead sticking 
in the mud. I changed my mind, but said nothing, as I 
knew, from the nature of the bottom, that if I caught a fish 



FROM BIDDEFORD POOL TO BOOTHBAT. 759 

at all, it would most likely be a hake. We drifted some 
with the tide, and presently my courage began to stir 
within me, when I felt my lead strike upon a solid ledge 
forty fathoms below. I kept the secret to myself, and in a 
few minutes bounced an eight-pound cod-fish on deck, 
exclaiming in a forcible manner, "There, gentlemen, your 
dinner is secured." Mr. Coburn, who had been a silent 
spectator since the fishing commenced, concluded to try his 
luck, and for half an hour or so we indulged in the luxury 
of a little fishing excitement, catching a number of fine 
cod and one nice haddock. 

At 12:30, p. M., we hauled in the lines and trimmed our 
sails to catch the breeze that came in light puffs from the 
south. But oh! what a contrast from yesterday, when we 
passed very near this place with the wind blowing hard 
from the south-west, and what a difference in the surface 
of the water — yesterday rough, to-day as smooth as it was 
possible for it to be. It was just such a day as sword- 
fishermen like to see. I wish all my friends could have 
shared with me the enjoyments of this day. 

At 1:15, P. M., we passed the North Atlantic Squadron, 
from Portland, five vessels in number and three barque- 
rigged. They had been to Portland for orders, and were 
bound on a cruising expedition. 

Dinner was the next excitement, and our appetites were 
sharp for that fried cod, as- the rattling of dishes passed on 
deck, and the savory smell of fried fish indicated the near 
approach of a feast. But just as we were read}' to 
appease our appetites the cry came from Capt. Albert, 
who was at the helm, "Sword-fish, ahoy!" Capt. Frank 
(we abound in captains), who had just wiped the perspira- 
tion from his brow, came out of the cabin on the double 
quick. " Down with the stay-sail," was the first command, 
and no quicker said than done. Then the frying pan was 
snatched from the stove, and the fish, placed in a tin, set 
under the stove to keep hot, along with the other fixings. 



i6o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The next move found Frank in the pulpit, on the end 
of the bowsprit, with rod in hand just in time to strike: 
he did strike, and, quicker than I can relate it, the warp 
was payed out to the fish. I unreeled fifty to one hundred 
yards of warp off the barrel, and threw the barrel over- 
board, but still kept the warp in my hand, ready to pay 
out to the fish as he needed it, standing ready to let it all 
go if need be, for I had no desire to take a bath at this 
time. When the fish stopped running Capt. Albert and 
myself commenced to haul him up, and we were quite 
careful to keep the line away from our feet, for it would 
be a serious matter to have a fish on the end of the line, 
weighing from four hundred to five hundred pounds, and a 
man's foot entangled in the bight. The fish ran two or 
three times, but a shorter distance each time, so we con- 
cluded, as he was well ironed, to haul the monster up, 
which we did in a short time. When he came to the 
surface he was pierced through the gills and soon suc- 
cumbed to his captors. Just fifteen minutes were occupied 
from the time the fish was struck until he lay on the deck 
of the Jennie B. We judged his weight to be three hun- 
dred and fifty pounds. 

Dinner was now served, and we sat down to a good, 
hearty meal, feeling all the better for the waiting and 
excitement. Just as we finished our dinner another fish 
was discovered to the windward, but he was making such 
rapid progress in an opposite direction that we did not 
deem it prudent to pursue. 

At 3, p. M., we had a fresh breeze from the southward, 
and, the Jennie B. skipping along finely, our prospect of 
reaching home early in the evening was good. At 4:15, 
p. M., the wind had hauled more to the west, and we were 
unable to make a straight course for the Pool. At 5 130, 
p. M., we were off Stratton Island, and from this point it 
was a dead beat to Wood Island, six miles distant. But 
this little inconvenience did not worry us at all, for as Mr. 



FROM BIDDEFORD POOL TO BOOTHS Al- 



ibi 



Cobuni said, "The experience and pleasure enjoyed so far 
on the trip, more than compensated for this little delay." 
We reached our moorings at 9:15, p. m., and the Jennie 
B. was made fast. 









^„.........-=--' 


V 

A 




\„ 


Hbl 





J"' 



A CRUISE IN THE JENNIE B. 



A VERACIOUS TALE OF THE PLEASURES, PRIVILEGES, PERILS AND PE^^\LTIE^ 
OF THE MIGHTY DEEP. 



By B. D. Ford Poole, Mariner, of that Ilk. 

We've watched the day's declining, and the sun 

Has sunk to rest amid a cloud of tlame, 
Chilling our hopes of the projected fun 

That waited on the morrow's pleasant frame. 
Soon from the hills the serried winds, pell-mell. 

Come rushing down and stir the tranquil " Pool," 
While the fierce rain, in volume like a well, 

Lashes the earth as 't were a rogue at school. 
Leaving us there, in disappointment's sorrow, 
To saj: "Alas! 'tis all up for to-morrow." 

But Goldthwaite knows a hawser from a horse. 

And reads the hints of Nature like a book : 
S.iys he — "Don't croak, I 've known it muchly worse, 

With far more lasting terror in its look. 
Don't judge to-morrow morning by to-night — 

' T is foolish borrowing trouble; we shall see. 
By midnight, all the stars out clear and bright. 

And everything just as it ought to be. 
I tell you, now, this splurge is to my wishing ; 
Depend upon't we'll have some superb fishing." 

Hopeful we sink to tranquilizing dreams. 

With Goldthwaite's promise ringing in our ears: 
Our sleeping fancy tinging with the beams 

That come in consolation from the spheres. 
On deck betimes, we catch the salt sea air. 

Moist from the waves beyond the slumbering Neck; 
Old Jupiter flames down in brilliance rare. 

And myriad stars the arching concave fleck. 
While eagerly the Jennie B. seems waiting. 
Our own impatient mood anticipating. 



A CEUISE IN THE JENNIE B. 163 

" The wind sits in the shoulder of the sail," 

The east just heralding approach of day, 
When, loosed our fast, before the favoring gale, 

The graceful Jennie speeds upon her way, — 
Leaving the shore as if too long withheld, 

And dancing gaily to the piping wind. 
The while her crew, b}' joyousness impelled. 

Are to a like exuberance inclined. 
Their bounding hearts to bounding waves respond, 
The sea regarded as a mother fond. 

' Tis pleasant thus upon her breast to rock. 

And feel the pulses of her mighty heart! 
Although one neophyte she haps to shock 

By overdoing, some, the " rocking " part. 
He mourns too close regard of Mother Sea, 

And, inharmonious with surrounding mirth, 
Stirred to his boots, his equanimity 

Upset, he, sick as death, crawls to his berth. 
Yet in good time, o'er qualmish ills a winner. 
He will come out in healthy trim for dinner. 

Now, gun' le-deep, we speed our way along. 

And rapture feel in freedom such as this ; 
The sunrise greeting with a morning song, 

Each bosom thrilling with excess of bliss. 
And appetite, excited by the scene. 

Revels in plenitude of apt supply ; 
No tempting menu of hotel cuisine 

Can with this lunch al fresco hope to vie : 
The coffee redolent as Samian wine. 
With rolls, ad libitum, upon the brine. 

The broad sea stretches to infinitude, 

Flecked with white sails illumined by the sun, 
The blue above and blue below, imbued 

With kindred glories, mingled into one! 
Oh Nature! for thy boundless lavishness 

Thy votaries pour their orisons to thee, 
While for those farther horizons they pass. 

That outline on the bosom of the sea, 
Which still recede as on they farther go. 
As hope eternal springs — the rhyme you know. 

Yet on and on, like gull upon the wing, 

The Jennie B. ploughs through the briny field, 

And lays her furrows as the shores of spring 

Cleave the green sward, for quite another yield ; 

For there awaiting, near far Tanto's shoal. 



t64 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Are myriads of fishes to be caught 
That need no extra recommended toll 

For their consideration to be brought. 
Drop them a line, just to express your wisli. 
And the late ploughing yields a crop of fish. 

Now cast the anchor, and upon the booms 

Drops the broad canvas, 'neath whose grateful shade 
Each piscator the favoring time consumes 

In following the fisher's gentle trade: 
But not so gentle where the mammoth cod 

Essays his powei's in the fishing line, 
Who, lively as a trout with flexile rod, 

May not to quick captivity incline. 
But gives his captor, whiles, a doubt if he 
Or the big fish will win the mastery. 

Ah, this is joyous! here to sit and swing 

In playful dalliance with the amorous tide, 
Unheeding time, that flies with rapid wing. 

Each moment fraught with sport intensified! 
The swarming fish take hold with eager vim, 

Whate'er they be that in such numbers teem ; 
No matter to the fisher — all to him 

Are blanks and prizes in a lottery scheme 
That he is drawing, with persistence stout. 
The cod being prizes — dog-fish counted out. 

Hail mighty Cod! thou monarch of the fry! 

Well may the poet thy grand merits sing ; 
To thee the chowder owes its majesty. 

The queen of dishes, sweet as breath of spring. 
First catch your fish — itself so proud a task — 

Then let the cook manipulate the rest ; 
Lav off and in the onion's perfume bask, 

No scent more sweet to epicvirean test. 
All done at last! and now let every soul 
Pledge mighty Chowder in a flowing bowl. 

There's one of us who's sailed o'er farther seas, 

And tasted dishes, served in many a clime, 
The most fastidious appetites to please, 

Who firmly vows the whole not worth a dime. 
Compared with chowder, eaten on the brine. 

On which the cook bestows his mind and heart, 
Wherein such fragrant combinations shine — 

The masterpiece of epicurean art ! 
Unlike the City sort — a feeble dish — 
Minus the onion and devoid of fish. 



A CRUISE IN THE JENNIE B. 165 

Restrained and swinging at her yielding chain, 

Coquetting gailj' with the waves that press, 
The Jennie B., contented in the main. 

Waits while her masters revel at their mess. 
Now stately vessels to the leeward sail, 

Attracted by an instinct plainly shown, 
The grateful chowder's perfume to inhale, 

And loiter by, unwilling to be gone; 
Bearing remembrance, far upon the wave, 
Of that sweet sniff which such enjoyment gave. 

Ocean engirts us almost like a ring, 

With here and there a point to meet the gaze ; 
" High Ground" of Biddeford's a trifling thing. 

Upon the horizon like a summer haze; 
The " Peak " we see, an island here and there. 

But showing dimly in the expansive blue. 
As if of earth's dominion scarce a share. 

Almost eluding the beholder's view. 
The fisher boats perpetual plying keep. 
And move like shuttlecocks across the deep. 

At little distance o'er the billows sweep 

The sword-fish captors — more for work than play ; 
We see their casting-spears destructive leap. 

And, much attached, the " barrel " dart away. 
The brave and stalwart Ocean King-at-Arms, 

Whose sword may triumph o'er the ponderous whale. 
Here pronely yields to unexpected harms. 

And ends his being in a dealer's scale! 
Had he but wisdom equal to his strength. 
He'd rule the ocean through its breadth and length. 

Up anchor now ; the daj^ wears on apace, 

— How fleet its pace at such a season blest! — 
The sun "draws water" and experts can trace 

The germs of tempest in the brassy west. 
Away we bound before the gathering gale; 

An intervening mist obscures the sun ; 
With hatches closed and double-reefed our sail, 

Encounter with the blast we do not shun. 
Pipe up, old Boreas, with your fiercest note. 
You can't scare us, old inmates of the boat. 

Soon darkling clouds are pendent overhead. 

And from their hydrants pour the "slanting rain;" 

The sea, fast rising, as if terror-sped. 

Urges its racers o'er the foaming plain. 
21 



ibb GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The lightning flashes and the thunder rolls, 

And darkness rules the province of the deep, 

But sturdy will our little bark controls, 

And as the winds must sweep we let them sweep. 

Better, when in a strait, to be content. 

If we can' t, any way, the thing prevent. 

Lay to! No hen in her sequestered nest, 

E 'er felt the fullness of a glad content, 
More potently than we in that calm rest. 

While elemental spite is on us bent. 
With everything secure — aloft, below — 

And Goldthwaite at the helm, fear cannot bide; 
The rains may beat, the winds their worst may blow, 

We know that all is right and let her slide. 
'Tis comfortable, when thus shut below. 
If we but know just how to make things go. 

The funny story first comes into play, 

From one who shows a very Protean art, 
In whom such potency of fun holds sway. 

That mirth is jubilant in every heart. 
Such portraitures of idiomatic vim, 

— Dutch, Scotch, and Irish, Darky and Chinee — 
That, listening their embodiment in him, 

We half forget his own identity. 
Such glorious souls a wealth of gladness fling. 
And rob adversity of half its sting. 
And tales are told of lands beyond the main. 

By him, our traveller 'neath many skies: 
Of perils dire, and incidents a train. 

That make his hearers open wide their eyes. 
In silence listening — without a doubt — 

He pours his mandragora on their ear, 
'Till patience, overtaxed, gives wholly out, 

As still he bores with a persistence drear. 
But soon, exhausted with his effort deep, 
He grows inaudible and drops asleep. 
Now for a song! and one stands to obey — 

A tender youth, of seatimental mien, 
But an apt sailor, as he's proved this day — 

Who thrums a grip-sack for a mandolin. 
And then he says he' 11 raise for us a lay 

(Though not a pullet) to a tender theme, 
Giving himself in rapturous mood away, 

Like a mashed lover in a halcyon dream ; 
While, listening, all admit his tenor's splendor, 
And own his tender notes are lesjal tender: 



A CRUISE IN THE JENNIE B. 167 

song: the sailor's i,ove. 
Darling, waiting by the sea, 

With her eye of anxious quest, 
Thinking lovingly of me — 

Me, alone, her bosom's gviest. 
Waiting, waiting. 
Ne'er abating 
In her tender love for me. 
Far away upon the sea. 

Soft and low across the sea. 

Greet her words my inner ear, 
Waking a response from me 

That I know her heart will hear. 
Wating, waiting. 
Ne'er abating 
In her tender love for me, 
Far away upon the sea. 

Soon, our vessel homeward bound, 

I shall find her by the sea; 
Oh the rapture, most profound, 

That's reserved for her and me! 
Waiting, waiting. 
Ne'er abating 
In her tender love for me. 
Safe returned from o'er the sea . 

" All hands on deck! " — it is the captain's cry. 

And up the stairs all spring with agile feet; 
The sun is chasing shadows from the sky. 

The winds and clouds are off in full retreat; 
The jocund waves run dancing in their glee, 

As if elated at the trial past. 
And now, the sails all set, the 3'ielding sea 

Feels Jennie's heel as on she hurries fast 
To reach the haven by the distant shore. 
And yield her crew to busy care once more. 

Now the High Ground in nearer aspect looms, 

As by the channel 's " Edges " safe we steer. 
We hear the wave o'er " Dancing Rock " that booms, 

Void of its tempest tones that boatmen fear. 
The landmarks plainer show as on we press. 

Beneath the urgency of wind and tide. 
And "Pine Point" wears a smile of cheerfulness, 

As if of welcome, as we onward glide. 
Old " Fletchers Neck" obtrudes, severe and grim, — 
His " Ncck\^^ alone, — unseen the rest of him. 



ib8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The more familiar scenes again are liere, 

As evening shadows o'er the landscape fall, 
The islands faintly show and disappear, 

As night descends upon them like a pall. 
Now the " Pool Landing " reached, to anxious friends 

We tell the story of our day's emprise. 
While sweet affection to enjoyment lends 

A charm that every peril sanctifies. 
And then we talk and smoke our mild cigar, 
While old " Wood Island Light " gleams like a star. 

The cottage lamps burn round "Old Orchard" beach. 

And all is still save the incoming tide, 
Or the faint distant sound of song or speech. 

As lovers walk the tranquil bay beside. 
We fancy, in the hush of evening, still. 

That we can hear the fall on " Foxwell's Brook," 
Or rustling leaves that sigh o'er " Laurel Hill," 

In spirit tones befit that sacred nook. 
A mist arising dissipates the charm. 
And we retire, inside, avoiding harm. 

Give me my yacht, my season by the shore. 

My wife and children happy by my side, 
I ' 11 ask from Madam Fortune nothing more, 

With this simplicity well satisfied; 
Of course a friend or two, to help us out. 

Should be included, and such little traps 
As tend to comfort that we know about. 

And these and other things were all, perhaps ; 
Then, with good sailing and sufficient fish, 
I would be happy as a king might wish. 

B. P. Shillaber. 



TROPICAL FISH. 



IT is pleasant, when engaged in taking fish from our 
own waters, to have some one at hand, as is almost always 
the case, who has sailed over tropical seas and can tell 
tales and incidents of his own experience. Fish that are 
unknown to us, save in books, we are made acquainted 
with from personal descriptions, and are led, almost to 
longing, to extend our excursions into wider fields. They 
tell us of the Portuguese man-o'-war, that sails on the wind 
in immense fleets, their tiny sails projected a few inches 
above the water, which disappear on the approach of a 
storm; of the king-fish, a beautiful and symmetrical fish, 
some six or eight feet long, of power sufficient, when 
stretched upon the deck of a small vessel, to jar the whole 
structure by the flapping of his tail; of huge sharks that 
follow a vessel for days, apparently in hope of some one 
falling overboard; of rudder-fish, a small and graceful little 
fellow, that plays about the rudder of a vessel during long 
\'oyages upon the summer seas; of dolphins that swim in 
great schools, hardly like the one that swam ashore with 
Arion, nor as beautiful as the subject of poetical tradition: 
and the flying-fish upon which the dolphin feeds. This last 
has been regarded by many a mythical creation, and we 
remember the story of the returned sailor, who told his 
grandmother about flying-fish, and was rebuked for telling 



rjo GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

anything so improbable; but when he told her that, in the 
Red Sea, they had, on weighing anchor, drawn up one of 
Pharaoh's chariot wheels, she believed it readily, but told 
him never to mention such a thing as flying-fish. 

The dolphins and flying-fish are every-where in the trop- 
ics, from the gulf stream to the equator on the north, and 
in corresponding waters south. In Curacoa they are 
caught and marketed as articles of food. The fl3dng-fish is 
as delicious as a mountain trout, but the dolphin hardly 
desirable to a northern palate. The negroes of Curacoa, 
and the poorer whites, however, are not so fastidious, and 
" every thing is fish that comes to their net," even the 
sharks that sometime break into their nets in pursuit of 
flying-fish. 

Taking flying-fish by nets, however, takes, likewise, all 
the romance and poetry out of them, whatever merit they 
may have as a fry. To see them on the deep in their 
freedom is a beautiful sight. When pursued by the dol- 
phin they spring from the bosom of the waves like silver 
slivers, and with their long side fins, two thirds as long 
as their body, they paddle the air, just above the water, 
for hundreds of feet, falling into the sea beyond, probably 
into the jaws of the fish that has followed them. They 
frequently drop upon the decks of vessels in their track, 
especially at night, and serve as a delicious morsel for the 
cabin table. One night as the jib of a vessel was being 
furled, a flying-fish struck the sailor, who was performing 
the duty, with such force as to almost knock him from the 
boom, but he caught the fish in the loose bosom of his 
shirt. The flying-fish is about the size of the small Scotch 
herring, and resembles it somewhat in the shape of body 
and scales, the head being different. 

The dolphin, when taken by a harpoon, bears out very 
feebly the claim made for his beauty. He is as ugly as a 
cat-fish, and his change of colors is but Httle to speak of; 
nothing, indeed, to any one but those predisposed to see 



TROPICAL FISH. r^r 

it. There is enough change, however, to commend it as a 
phenomenon, but the beauty claimed is humbug. The flesh 
of the dolphin is very dry, and the sailors prefer salt horse 
and hardtack to dolphin steaks. 

The porpoises that play around vessels in the tropics are 
far greater favorites with the sailors. There is a social 
and free and easy way about a porpoise that a dolphin 
does not possess. Throw an old hat to a tropical porpoise 
and he will, likely as not, thrust his head in the crown 
and wear it down among the mermaidens as a specimen of 
human fashions. The porpoise is esteemed for his liver, 
that resembles a hog's, in taste. The good brig Alexander, 
of Hartford, returning from Damarara, had on board a 
very eccentric passenger, who ate but one meal a day — 
his dinner — when he gorged enough for all three. He 
would lie in his berth until nearly dinner time, reading 
good books, ostensibl}', but the steward found under his 
pillow other books not so good, and then he would dress 
himself elaborately, even to wrist ruffles, and sit at table 
as stately as an alderman. One morning early a porpoise 
was caught and its liver given over to the cook. The 
mate, a waggish man, told the steward to inform the pas- 
senger that they had pan-fish for breakfast, and asked him 
to join them. He had seen rudder-fish playing about the 
vessel and had expressed a wish to taste them, and here, 
he thought, was just the occasion. He accordingly arrayed 
himself with his accustomed care and came on deck, where 
the smell proclaimed the approaching treat. He seated 
himself at the table, with the most tantalizing expectation, 
waiting the advent of the "pan-fish." Shade of Epicurus! 
No sooner did the steward appear, depositing the fried 
liver upon the table, than the gourmand started up, almost 
capsizing the spread for breakfast, and rushed for his cabin 
where he sulked till dinner time, and never spoke to the 
mate afterwards during the Aovage. 



ONE OF THE DAYS. 



ONE of the pleasant days passed at the Pool, during sum- 
mer, may serve to characterize many, given up to the 
enjoyment of memory of the past and participation in inci- 
dents of the present. Thus, while the Jennie B. is waiting 
her departure on her accustomed errand, and the captain is 
making preparations for a sailing and fishing expedition 
out upon the deep, I quietly seat myself upon the shady 
side of John H. Hussey's fish-house and let my mind run 
back to years ago, when I first became acquainted with 
the delightful locality, and mark the changes that have 
since taken place. Very few of the people now remain who 
sailed the boats of long ago, but have taken that farther 
voyage from which there is no returning. With memory 
of these let me picture the present scene. 

Across the stream, I see the tug-boat Jos. Baker, in her 
new summer dress. Paul Hussey is painting the Etta B. Rich, 
and soon Fred T. Brown, of New York, and his friends, 
will be upon the briny deep in her, with " Paul in the 
Pulpit," looking for sword-fish. Warren Rich, with the Eva 
A. Race, is just starting on a look-out for mackerel. Jotham 
Davis comes skimming along, noiselessly, returning from his 
daily trip for lobsters or cunners, and soon Henry Goldthwaite 
will make his appearance, after a few hours' visitation to his 
lobster traps; neither of whom need fear, if weighed in the 



ONE OF THE DATS. i-js 

scales, of being found wanting. Rounding the turn at the Lob- 
ster Rocks comes Johnson, the indefatigable, with a decent 
fare of cod-fish, and soon the quiet shore will change to a busy 
scene, where, for an hour or more, the fishers will be 
employed in taking care of the morning "catch." Though 
not naturally musical, the Biddeford Pool people are always 
ready to join in a catch. 

All right now for the morning cruise, but the day is 
very calm, with scarcely a breath of air stirring, and if we 
succeed in reaching the fishing-grounds we shall be luck}-. 
The captain says " Ready ! " and, putting our stores and 
bait on board the tender, we wait the movement of the 
waters, or, rather, the winds, the water being well enough. 
We attempt to start, but there is plenty of time for a 
good deal more reflection than I had indulged in. As we 
move along at but a snail's pace, memory still rests upon 
the scenes of long ago. There is no escape from them in 
this calm. Ever}" spot is invested wdth interest, made 
familiar b}' years of association. The mind, in such a 
mood of nature, takes its form, and we drift and dream, 
with pictures of former days taking shape in our imagina- 
tion, embodying in many ways the life of the old Pool 
veterans. One prominent feature presents itself as we drift 
by Lobster Rocks, where, at Christopher Husse3^\s, I 
spent so many of my boyhood days. There is his house, 
and there is the man, in the mind's e3"e, as I used to see him, 
going towards South Point, gaff in hand and basket on arm, 
the red flannel undershirt revealing its bright circles around 
both arms about half way up. I would give a deal for 
such pictures, embodying the scene, and others that 1 
recall as we move slowly on under the summer sk^■. 

Just outside Wood Island are fourteen schooners in pre- 
cisely our own condition, and can scarcely budge an inch. 
The sloop yacht Anna, Com. Lambert, of Boston, has just 
made her appearance, between Wood and Gooseberry 
Islands, barely moving with the action of the ebb-tide. 



174 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Soon, however, we are favored with a light breeze, and all 
move on like gulls upon the wing. In a little while we 
say " Good-bye " to the yacht, as we have alread}^ " hove 
to," to give the fish a try. Presently we anchor, and speedily 
the sky assumes a threatening aspect. The dark low 
clouds seem full of wind and rain. Hark! now the thun- 
der booms over the distant land, betokening a tempest that 
may soon be upon us. It comes louder and nearer, till the 
whole concave seems aflame, and the rain descends, like a 
cataract, with the rising wind. 

Reader, have you ever had the charm of sailing knocked 
out of you by a squall at sea? Only through your own 
experience can you appreciate our condition in the present 
emergency. It is really threatening a blow. We lower 
our main-sail, secure our fore-sail and jib, and wait the 
elemental war, that comes soon enough, the thunder and 
lightning terrific — the lightning pla3dng all around and 
over us — and from several claps, simultaneously with the 
flashes, the streaked flame must have struck old ocean in 
our immediate vicinity. Luckily the storm was brief, but if 
those on shore could have witnessed it, as we did, they 
would have come to the conclusion that the floodgates of 
heaven were opened wide above us, filling our hearts with 
apprehension lest the water should fill our boat with its 
downpouring. 

Calm and storm prompt each their peculiar reflections. 
The morning dream is succeeded by thoughts suggested by 
the tempest's terror. First comes the dread lest the anchor 
may not hold, then whether masts and sails may not suc- 
cumb to the fury of the gale, and then what may become 
of ourselves if all should go. We feel a realizing sense of 
our position as the rain and wind are beating upon us. 
In thirt}' minutes the storm is all over and the sun beams 
down upon us with a more benignant expression after his 

obscuration, seeming to say: " You shall not be harmed. I'll 
look out for vou." 



ONE OF THE DATS. 



'75 



It is a glorious sight to see old Ocean after a storm, and 
we must witness all its phases to realize its grandeur and 
beauty. We feel happy to have escaped unscathed from 
the tempest's spite, and ever}' wave is invested with added 
beauty. The episode verified the moral quotation from 
Mrs. Gov. Bradstreet's poem about yachting, to be read 
elsewhere. 

Regarding the day's fishing, the result was satisfactory, 
notwithstanding the unfavorable condition of things, as I 
carried home my baker and broiler safely. Something like 
the itinerant who handed around his hat for a collection, 
and, getting nothing in it, was very grateful that he had 
got his hat back again. 




A SHADOW-CANOE TRIP. 



FROM ANDOVER, MASS., TO BAR HARBOR, ME., IN AUG., 1880. 



BY G. W. W. DOVE. 



THE shadow-canoe is a small cedar lap-streak keel boat, 
thirteen feet long b}^ two and one-half beam, and of about 
sixty pounds weight; decked over, except where the oper- 
ator sits, and is propelled by a double paddle, or sails. In 
the bow and stern are water-tight compartments of about 
two cubic feet each in capacity, which render the canoe 
very buo3'ant and safe in rough water. It is yawl-rigged, 
and sails very well before the wind. The steering is done 
by means of lines leading from the yoke on the rudder to a 
cross-bar on a post stepped under the deck within easy 
reach of the feet of the operator, who sits in the bottom of 
the canoe. 

On the trip in question some supplies were taken, such 
as water, pilot-bread, etc., and a good-sized portmanteau 
carried the necessary clothing. All these were comfortably 
stowed away, fore and aft, leaving the middle free for the 
passenger. The portable masts and sails and an extra pad- 
dle were stowed on each side of him, also a dipper, 
sponge, fog-horn, compass, chart, etc., conveniently near. 
The journey was begun on Monday morning, the 9th of 
August, by two gentlemen, the writer and Wm. R. Robe- 
son, of Boston, each in his own canoe, with everything 
carefullv stored and made fast, so that, in case of an un- 



A SIIADOW.CAXOE TRIP. 777 

lucky upset, nothing would be lost. The start was made 
at 9 o'clock, from below the dam at Frye Village, Andover, 
Mass., on the Shawshin River, a tributary of the Merrimac. 

Paddled leisurely down until 10:15, when we reached the 
Merrimac a mile or so below Lawrence. Rubbed pretty 
hard over the shallow places and rapids, running one, on 
which we came nearer being capsized than at any other 
time during the trip. The run down the Merrimac was 
very pleasant, with the exception of two very lively rapids, 
where it was rather exciting. At the principal one, a mile 
or two above Haverhill, government dredges were at work 
deepening the water, and we were ver}' nearly nipped out 
of our boats b}' the chin, as we shot under one of the 
moorinp" cables stretched across within two feet of the rush- 
ing water. We felt all the more thankful for our escape 
when we saw some poor fellows drying their clothes, just 
below the rapids, having been capsized as the}- attempted 
to run them. They had lost everything that the boats 
contained, including some valuable guns. Reached Haver- 
hill at noon, when, feeling a slight breeze behind us, we 
spread our ''dandies" (a little leg-of-mutton sail just astern 
of the paddler). Soon after, the breeze freshened, when we 
landed, stepped our masts and hoisted our mainsails and 
jibs, though the latter were never of much use. The 
mainsail is of the "lug" pattern, of about thirty cubic feet 
area, and is quite effective in a good breeze anywhere from 
abaft the beam. Lunched on board while sailing down the 
river. At 4:15 we reached Newburyport. Landed just 
above the city, stowed our sails and took a swim; then 
paddled down, hauled our canoes out and housed them, 
and resorted to the Merrimac House for the night. 

Tuesday, loth. Were off again at 9, a. m., and in an 
hour were out of the ri\er and on the salt water. Passed 
SaHsbury Beach at 10, and the Boar's Heads at 11:30. 
Paddled on over a gentle swell until 12:30, when we came 
to Rye Beach, where we landed for dinner and a rest, as 



1^8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

three hours of steady work was a little trying to untrained 
muscles, at first. After a good dinner at the Farragut 
House we were ready to proceed, but were detained, until 
quarter past 4, by a violent thunder storm, which we were 
quite content to witness from the piazza of the hotel rather 
than experience on the ocean. Tried our sails again, but 
made slow progress, so stowed them and paddled along the 
shore to the entrance of Portsmouth Harbor, where, at 6 
o'clock, we hauled out and passed a very comfortable 
night at the Wentworth House. The distance from New- 
buryport to Portsmouth is, by the way we went, about 
twenty miles, which we accomplished in a trifle more than 
five hours. 

Wednesday^ nth. Started again at 9, a. m., with the 
wind ahead. A fine sunny day, which we fully realized 
before night by the impression it made on our arms and 
backs, which became as red as a boiled lobster, and felt 
about as comfortable, probably, as one when boiling. At 
10:15 passed Whalesback light, and soon after sighted the 
"Nubble," a curious-looking object, not unlike a huge ^'g^., 
with a light-house perched on the top of it. At York, 
which we reached soon after noon, we were glad to cool 
our heated limbs by a plunge in the surf. Had a good 
dinner after a hard struggle, on account of the numerous 
summer guests recreating there, and shoved off again at 
2:15. No fair wind to-day, so had to paddle steadily, and 
we were not loth to point our bows in shore when we 
arrived off Wells Beach. Landed at 6 and made snug for 
the night. A pretty hard day, with little wind, and the 
sun beating down on us all the way. Turned in after a 
hearty supper, but it did not seem more than five minutes 
before it was morning, and we as hungry again as though 
we had not tasted food for a week. 

Thursday, 12th. Off at 9:15 a. m. A fine cool morning 
without a ripple on the water. Cape Porpoise, away in 
the dim distance, was our objective point. To reach it we 



A SHADOW-CANOE TRIP. 179 

had to cross an arm of the sea tweh-e miles wide. As the 
sky was clear and the sea calm, however, we ventured it, 
instead of following the coast, and, after a steady pull of 
nearly three hours, we were safely over. After doubling 
the cape we hoped to cut off another good piece, between 
us and Saco, by going through a creek. We noticed that 
the tide was pretty well out, and asked a fisherman if we 
could get through. "Oh, yes, with them things," was the 
encouraging reply. So we started in among the islands. 
Before getting far in, another fisherman was a littie doubt- 
ful about our getting through, but was sure we would not 
have to wait more than twenty minutes, any way, and 
suggested that, if we got stuck, we could take our ships 
under our arms and walk over. As we should cut off a 
couple hours of hard work, or hoped we should, we took 
courage and proceeded. Soon passed another man, in a 
boat, who informed us that we should have to w^ait an 
hour. This did not dismay us, as he might be mistaken, 
so we pushed on. The creek grew narrower and shal- 
lower, and at last there was no water at all. It did not 
look as though the tide would ever cover the huge rocks 
and rubbish that extended as far as the eye could reach; 
so, in desperation, we backed out, as cheerfully as the cir- 
cumstances would admit. Moral: Do not fool with mud 
creeks at low water. We did not reach the Point of Rocks 
off Biddeford Pool until 2:25. p. m., and were rather drear- 
ily lunching on a bit of hardtack, when our friend, Mr. 
Joseph W. Smith, who, from the piazza of his hotel, had 
espied the two little specks out on the water, as we were 
passing, drove quickly down to the Point, and hailed us, and 
we paddled round into the harbor at the Pool, and had the 
pleasure of dining with him. We intended to go on imme- 
diatelv after, to Cape Elizabeth for the night, but as we had 
already experience enough for one da}', there being no wind, 
concluded to remain where we were, which decision we did 
not regret, as we found we had fallen among friends. 



i8o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Friday^ 13th. Started at 8:30, A. m., the water still as a 
mill-pond, the sun shining brightly, and a gay party giving 
us a good send-off. At 11 130 passed Richmond Island, 
when we spread sails and slanted over to Cape Elizabeth, 
where we dined quite comfortably at the hotel. At 2:15 
proceeded again, and had a fine run down to Harpswell, 
at the mouth of Portland Harbor, which we reached at 
6:30. A fine breeze made the water quite choppy, but the 
little boats behaved beautifully, and we enjoyed this, our 
first good sail, very much. Our covers, which fitted snugly 
around us, and our rubber coats protected us from the 
water, which sometimes seemed to cover the whole canoe 
as she plunged under a high wave. One charm about this 
kind of sailing is the delightful freedom from having to 
retrace one's course in order to get home again before 
night — - often midnight — as we carry our homes with us 
for the time being. 

Saturday, 14th. Started at 8:30, a. m., though it was 
raining a little. The paddle across to Cape Smallpoint was 
against quite a head sea. Shipped a number of white caps 
which drenched us, since we could not paddle in over- 
coats, but the exercise kept us in a glow, and we passed 
safely over. At 11:30 passed the lonely island of Seguin, 
with its solitary light-house perched on its high cliff. Then 
came an hour of rugged work as we paddled across the 
mouth of the Kennebec, against wind and tide, and waves 
hic-her than our heads. If we had known what was in 
store for us when we started in the morning we should 
not have left Harpswell so willingly. After fairly getting 
off, however, there was no turning back, as we might have 
been swamped in attempting it. But I do not consider 
that we were in any particular danger so long as we could 
keep head on to the waves and make any progress, as our 
buoyant little canoes, completely covered in, shed the water 
quickly and safely. They required all of our attention 
though, and we did not idle much until we were safely 



A SHADOW-CANOE TRIP. i8i 

over, and in behind a sheltering island, where we stopped 
at I o'clock for rest and lunch. Got into some dry clothes 
and shoved off again at 2 :30, bound for Mouse Island, 
some fifteen miles distant. The wind had gone down, and 
so we had to rely upon muscle alone. At 4 we were off 
Old Harbor, or Cape Newagin, rejoicing that the roughest 
part of our journey was well over. Rain troubled us not 
a little, and at one time we stopped under an old lish- 
house, built on piles, and let it pour for a good hour. It 
was a leaky shelter though, and reminded us of the Shaks- 
pearean gaberdine. But it was getting late and we had to 
push out into the shower and make the best of our way 
to Mouse Island, which we reached at dark, and, hauling 
our canoes above high water mark, we sponged out the 
little water that had stolen in — expected to find much more — 
put on the covers, locked them up, and, with our port- 
manteaus, walked up to the hospitable hotel for Sunday. 
We changed our wet clothes, had supper, and slept in a 
closet, which, however, we did not mind a bit. I believe 
we could have slept on a picket fence, though of course 
we were thankful that we did not have to try. 

Sunday, 15th. Rested — that is, most of the day. We 
considered it a work of necessity to take a run up the 
river to Boothbay to dry our sails, there was such a dry- 
ing breeze ! — but we did not continue our journey until 

Monday, i6th, when we shoved off at 8, a. m. Quite a 
party saw us start, in our good clothes, and waved to us, 
with good wishes, until we were out of sight around the 
first point; then we landed and got ready for work. Out- 
side found a strong breeze blowing, to which we hoisted 
our sails. The little masts bent under it, and we bowled 
along at an exciting pace, our little sharp bows cutting 
through the water like a knife. The sea was quite smooth, 
our course being behind sheltering islands most of the way. 
At 10:50 rounded Pemaquid Point, where we were tossed 
about a little, but we could stand anything after the Ken- 

23 



1 82 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

nebec river experience. At Marshall's Island we dined at 
I o'clock, a pail of nice milk from the lighthouse helping 
us out. Another sail of four hours, past the " beautiful 
Camden hills, brought us to the Musscle Ridges, with the 
finest breeze behind us we had yet felt. How we did 
skim over the water! At 8:30, hauled out at Owl's Head 
for the night. We expected to sleep at Tennant's Harbor, 
but learned that the only hotel there had been burned. 
With the tide in our favor it was no hardship to paddle on 
a while, after losing the breeze with the sun. The last 
five miles were made under a bright moon, which was a 
very pleasant novelty. Progress, to-day, thirt3^-two miles. 

Tuesday, ijth. Were delayed in getting off by my 
companion's steering geer being out of order. A little box 
of tools, which formed part of our outfit, enabled us to 
repair the damage, and at 8:30, a. m., we paddled away 
for the North Fox Island, which we reached at i o'clock, 
and dined upon our pilot bread and milk. At 2 :30 our 
afternoon breeze brisked up again and carried us flying 
to Eagle Island, where we put up at the lighthouse for 
the night. 

Wednesday, i8th. Our next stop was to be at South- 
west Harbor, Mount Desert Island, the blue mountains of 
which we could just see in the dim distance from the 
lighthouse. Paddled up the bay, with our dandies set, in an 
hour and a half; made seven miles, and entered Egamoggin 
Reach. The steamer Lewiston, from Mt. Desert, gave us 
a friendly " toot " as she passed us, her passengers craning 
their necks at us as though we had been the sea serpent. 
A brisk breeze was blowing against us. At i :20, p. m., bread- 
and-milked on the end of Pond Island, and resumed our 
paddles again at 3 o'clock. Southwest Harbor, with a stiff 
northeast breeze and a bay full of white caps between, 
was twelve miles distant, but there was nothing to do but 
to push on, though we had been working hard since morn- 
ing. At quarter past 5, passed Bass Harbor light without 



A SHADOW-CANOE TRIP. 183 

accident, which we considered good time. Tried our sails 
on changing our course a little, but, not making satisfac- 
tory progress, clewed up and paddled round to the harbor, 
not reaching there until past 7, after a hard day's work 
against the wind all the way. Supper was over at the hotel, 
but the good-natured deacon had a steak cooked for us, 
which we immediately swallowed and called for more. 
Our appetites were not entirely appeased until about 9 
o'clock, and then we had to hunt up a bed, every room at 
the hotels being full. We got through the night somehow. 
I know we slept soundly and breakfasted heartily. Paid 
our one dollar each cheerfull}^ wondering if the good dea- 
con made any money out of his summer boarders, espe- 
cially canoeists, and at 10, a. m., bore away for Bar Har- 
bor, the end of our journey, which we reached at 2 
o'clock, having made two hundred and seventy-five miles in 
our jolly little boats, in ten working days of about seven 
hours each. The pleasure of our trip was such that we 
really felt regret that it was so soon over. 



PHENOMENA OF THE SEA. 



CURRENTS, winds, light breezes, calms, fogs, etc., 
afford a constant study to those who live beside the sea, 
or who have a home, or do business, upon its waters, and 
elaborate scientific treatises have been written upon them 
for general instruction. Rare opportunities are afforded at 
Biddeford Pool for witnessing these phenomena in perfec- 
tion, and its harbor presents a safe retreat to those endan- 
gered by them. With Portland Harbor twenty miles to 
the eastward, and Portsmouth forty miles to the west, the 
Pool becomes very desirable as a safe resort, when adverse 
winds, squally or thick weather, and fogs prevail, as is 
quite commonly the case on the coast — especially in July 
and August, when the yachtsmen are out, who find in 
the Pool Harbor a safe shelter, remaining until danger has 
passed. The mackerel fleet, on their passage to the east, 
or vice versa, congregate, when hostile phenomena occur, 
inside of Wood Island for a harbor, and large vessels at 
times seek shelter for the same reason. If one were to 
keep a record of all the interesting occurrences relative to 
the subject of this chapter, during the year, it would pre- 
sent a very amusing and instructive whole that would be 
pleasant to scan. The freaks of marine phenomena here 
are so frequent in their varied phases, that they are merely 
noticed for a moment and forgotten, or, if remembered by 



PHENOMENA OF THE SEA. iSj 

some, more observing than most others, are only used to 
adorn a tale, illustrating some incident at Biddeford. Rele- 
vant to this topic of phenomena of the sea, is presented 
a chapter from a work by Dr. James R. Nichols, of 
Haverhill, by his kind permission, regarding the "Chemis- 
try of the Sea," that will be found both pertinent and 
attractive : 



CHEMISTRY OF THE SEA. 



Efom " Cliennsfiy of the Farm and the Sea," by yames R. Nichols, M. D., ivho 
has kiudly permitted its insertion here. 



While standing by the shore of the sea, contemplating 
its solemn grandeur, and reflecting upon its mysteries, we 
are apt to overlook some of the interesting and wonderful 
facts connected with its chemical history and character. It 
is natural that what is palpable to the eye, and so well 
calculated to awaken subhme and poetic emotions, should 
overpower the desire to study the "hidden things" of God, 
as connected with the great deep. It would be difficult at 
the sea-side to obtain listeners to a lecture upon the chem- 
istry of the sea; but I venture to assume that under the 
less busy and exciting circumstances of home, the topic will 
not prove devoid of interest. 

That which usually first arrests the attention of visitors 
to the sea, is the bitter and saline character of the waters, 
and the inquiry is made. From whence arises this remark- 
able condition? It may be said in reply, that it is but an 
exaggeration of that of ordinary lakes, and rivers, and 
springs; the same materials exist in them, only, in most 
instances, in infinitesimal quantities. As the atmosphere is 
the grand reservoir into which all gaseous or vaporous 
bodies pass, so the sea is the vast receptacle into which all 
the soluble substances washed from the earth are deposited. 
All kinds of soluble matter, washed out by percolating 



j86 gleanings FROM THE SEA. 

rains, descend to the ocean, by the agency of brooks and 
rivers; and as there is no outlet, no streams running from 
it, to carry them away, and as in the process of evapora- 
tion they are left behind, these soluble salts and minerals 
have been accumulating for ages, until they form prominent 
constituents of the waters. All bodies of water on the 
globe, into which rivers flow, but from which there is no 
outlet, except by evaporation, must necessarily be salt lakes. 
The Great Salt Lake, in Utah, that of Aral, near the Cas- 
pian, and the Dead Sea, in Judea, are remarkable exam- 
ples of this kind. The Utah basin is filled with a satu- 
rated solution of this substance. This excessive saline con- 
dition is probably due to the existence of large bodies of 
salt in close proximity, or somewhere within the reach of 
streams that flow into it. Chloride of sodium, or common 
salt, is one of the most abundant of all the soluble sub- 
stances found upon our earth, and consequently it predom- 
inates in sea waters. But while it is the most abundant 
and perhaps the most useful, it is by no means the only 
valuable substance carried into the sea. In quantity, next 
after salt, come certain combinations of magnesia, next, salts 
of lime, the carbonate held in solution by excess of car- 
bonic acid, then small quantities of potash and oxide of 
iron, and lastly, a trace of a most remarkable elementary 
body — iodine. 

It seems a trifling and unimportant matter, this trace of 
the latter substance in sea water. The quantity is so infin- 
itesimally small as scarcely to be recognized by chemical 
tests even after condensation by evaporation. Prior to the 
year 1812, this element was unknown. It was not found 
in plants, or rocks, or earths, or springs, in quantities 
appreciable to the chemistry of the last century; and even 
now we only know that a few atoms exist in the little 
watercress, and a few other aquatic plants, and in some 
springs and rocks; but from none of these sources could, 
probably, a single ounce be obtained. By the solvent 



PHENOMENA OF THE SEA. 1S7 

power of water the minute quantities found upon the earth 
are, taken up and deposited in the sea; and the Creator, 
as if foreseeing that this substance would be required in 
the arts to be cultivated by man, has provided a way by 
which it may be secured and appropriated to his purposes. 

But before dwelling more particularl}' upon iodine, let us 
return to a brief consideration of the uses in sea water of 
some of the other soluble constituents. Everything in 
nature certainly has some palpable use. It is no accident 
or casual circumstance that the sea contains large quanti- 
ties of the hme and magnesia salts. What stupendous 
results flow from this soluble carbonate of lime! Without 
it where could shell-fish procure their coverings, or the 
coral polyps the material for their curious structures? The 
shell of the clam, the oyster, the snail, the lobster, etc., is 
composed almost wholly of carbonate of lime: From 
what source do the fish obtain their calcareous coverings? 
Young oysters in two or three years acquire a size suited 
to be used as an article of human food. The little gelatin- 
ous speck floating in the water at birth has through some 
channel obtained two or three ounces of solid stone armor 
in the short space of thirty or forty month?,. • It had no 
power to chisel it from limestone cliffs, and they are not 
always found in the vicinity of calcareous deposits. It has 
absorbed or drawn it from the water in which it moves; 
no other source supplies it. How immense are the beds of 
shell-fish upon the shores of the ocean! What a vast con- 
centration of the lime, once held in solution, is effected by 
these feeble creatures, ranked among the lowest in the 
order of animated creation! 

But still more wonderful is the work of the coral polyps. 
The geologist and the navigator will readily appreciate the 
extent to which the surface of the globe has been altered 
and modified, both in ancient and modern times, by the 
silent labors of myriads of these creatures, all engaged in 
the production of calcareous matter. The whole peninsula 



iS8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

of Florida has been manufactured out of sea water by the 
little polyps. We are indebted to them for our marble 
houses, tombstones, and mantel-pieces. Powers's Greek 
Slave, pronounced by admirers of statuary to be "instinct 
with life," was probably once so in an actual rather than 
poetical sense. The marble is made up of the relicts of 
these animals ; and if from comminution they are not ap- 
parent to the eye, the microscope will show them. It is 
probable that nearly if not quite all limestone rock, in 
whatever form it is found, is of animal origin, and pro- 
duced from the waters of the sea. 

We now understand how vast quantities of lime are re- 
moved from sea water by the agency of living organisms: 
it remains to notice the channels through which iodine is 
separated, and placed in our hands for use in medicine 
and the arts. Human industry and science could never 
separate this element from sea water in any considerable 
quantity, and the power denied to man has been bestowed 
upon a slimy, repulsive weed. It is fortunate for us that 
the deep-sea plants have had conferred upon them a 
strange appetite, and that the food they seek is in part the 
sparsely disseminated atoms of iodine. It is probable that 
this constituent of sea water is in some way connected 
with the well-being of submarine vegetation, and that it is 
indispensable to its growth. 

Through what feeble agencies stupendous results are at- 
tained! The little polyps build reefs and islands; the sea- 
plants (which every wave tears from their rocky homes), 
with their milhons of open mouths, suck from the sur- 
rounding waters and appropriate as food tons upon tons of 
substances, otherwise unobtainable, and without which one 
of the most beautiful and important arts could have no ex- 
istence. Seawood possesses the remarkable power of ab- 
stracting from water, iodine. Let us inquire by what 
process of chemical manipulation it is forced to disgorge its 
precious treasures. 



PHENOMENA OF THE SEA. i8g 

All deef-sea -plants are more or less rich in iodine; but 
the Palmata digitata, that leather-like and greasy weed, 
with long round stalk and wide branches, has it in great- 
est abundance. The Irish call it tangle or lieach, and it is 
found strewn along our shores in large quantities after 
storms. But even this holds but a very small quantity. 
Every ounce of iodine upon the shelves of the apothecary 
has required at least yc»?/r hundred pounds of weeds in its 
production. About thirty tons of the wet plants give one 
ton of kelp, as the incinerated mass is called, and from this 
nine or ten pounds of iodine is obtained. This would seem 
to involve a prodigious amount of labor and expense, 
bringing a high price upon the products. But the price is 
exceedingly moderate, seldom ranging in the English mar- 
ket above three dollars per pound. It would never pay at 
such prices to manufacture if the weeds did not yield other 
valuable products, as potash and soda. Without stopping 
to consider in detail the production of these salts, it may 
be interesting to know that probably more than four thous- 
and tons of potash and two thousand of soda were intro- 
duced into the English market the past year, through the 
burning of sea-plants upon the coasts of Scotland and Ire- 
land. The entire products of iodine from all sources must 
reach nearly or quite five hundred thousand pounds. How 
great is the industrial value of that which seems the most 
repulsive and worthless of all the products of nature! To 
what science are we indebted for opening up this great 
source of wealth? The reader's reply may be anticipated, 
— Chemistry. 

The first work in the process is to collect the plants; 
they are then spread upon the ground and dried. Raked 
together in heaps, they are placed in rude kilns, made of 
beach stones, and burned. The red mass of ashes is 
stirred until it cools into a hard cake, called kelp, and is 
then ready for market and the interesting manipulations of 
the chemists. 

24 



igo GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The chemist breaks up the kelp into small pieces, puts 
it into immense tanks, pours on water, and leaches, undl 
everything soluble is secured. He then evaporates the ley. 
and removes the different salts in the order of their solu- 
bility. First, sulphate of potash begins to crystallize; and 
that is removed while hot: as the liquor cools, the 
chloride of potassium begins to appear in beautiful white 
crystals; and that is removed. The ley is again boiled, 
and soon the soda salts appear; and they are removed; 
and now comes the iodine. If we commenced with six- 
teen hundred gallons of ley, we have reduced it to one 
hundred by evaporation and removal of the soda and 
potash salts: this holds the iodine in the form of iodate of 
soda and potassa. We must now free the iodine by taking 
up the soda and potassa (which it holds in combination) 
with sulphuric acid; accordingly, we add until it is satu- 
rated, and then we remove the 3^ellow liquid to a style foi 
sublimation. By the addition of heat the iodine is volatil- 
ized, or rises in vapor, and distils over into earthen recep- 
tacles, where it is condensed, and the process ends. 

How often at the sea-side do we notice the disgust with 
which visitors thrust aside the slimy weeds, left upon the 
beach by the receding tide! It is probable that most carr^ 
about with them the photograph of some dear friend which 
they regard as a precious keepsake; unconscious, indeed, 
are they of the connection which exists between the light 
picture carried in the bosom and the marine plants trodden 
beneath their feet — a connection so intimate, that without 
the latter the former would probably be unknown. Iodine 
and its combinations form the basis of the photographic 
art; and this still resting undisturbed in the vegetable or- 
ganisms, the splendid experiments of Daguerre would have 
been miserable failures. 



PHENOMENA OF THE SEA. igi 

THE TIDES. 



Capt. Harrison Goldthwaite, who for many years has 
been a pilot on Saco river, and is at present Captain of 
the steam tug Joseph Baker, which is the only tow boat 
on the above river, has kindly furnished some facts relating 
to tides. When the sun crosses the line in March, the 
night tides relatively increase with the increase of the 
length of days until the longest day in June, when the 
disparity of the tides is greatest, showing an increase of 24 
to 30 inches. As the days decrease in length the differ- 
ence of the tides steadily decreases until the sun crosses 
the line in September, when they become equal. After the 
September equinox, the change in the tides is exactly op- 
posite from March to September, the da}^ tides being the 
highest; the greatest difference occuring during the short- 
est days in December. The fact of the moon's effect on 
the tides is conclusive: for when the moon runs the hicfh- 
est we have our highest tides, and when the moon runs 
lowest we have our lowest tides. When the moon quar- 
ters, if it is in apogee, it gives our very lowest tides. If 
on the full or change, it is in perigee, we have our very 
higest tides. If the moon perigees on the quarter, the 
tides at the longest days are nearly as high as when it 
apogees on the change. Consequently, the effect of the 
moon on the tides is very apparent. The mean flow of 
the tides at Biddeford Pool, as given by government sur- 
vey, is 8^ feet. On September 28, 1884, the tide at the 
Pool by actual measurement, floW'Cd 5 feet 8 inches, wath 
no local cause to affect it. The moon at that time 
apogeed on the quarter. A perigee near the quarter will 
give the mean flow of the tide. 



A RHYMED RECORD. 



THE following account of a cruise in the sloop E. Law- 
son, Capt. Frank W. Goldthwaite, of Biddeford Pool, de- 
scribes so graphically the details of yacht life, and is so 
associated with pool experiences, that it finds a befitting 
place in these pages, by permission of Capt. Goldthwaite, 
now of the Jennie B., to whom it was dedicated by the 
author. Major Alexander W. Pearson, who is likewise the 
author of the romantic sea idyl in another part of this 



volume. 



CRUISE OF THE E. LAW SON. 



"FISHER'S HOTEL," 
BooTHBAV, Maine, Septeinher nth, i86S. 
Two days ago, September 9th, we merrily set sail 
From Biddeford, on the coast of Maine, to try and catch a whale. 
Along that stern and rocky coast we cruised throughout the day, 
And moored our sloop at sunset in the harbor of Boothbay. 

Hungry and wet, and tired too, from off the ocean's swell, 
We fishers found a resting place at Fisher's good Hotel : 
Whose table's spread from foot to head with all that's good to eat. 
Whose soft and downy beds invite refreshing slumbers sweet. 

We dried our clothes, we supped, we smoked, but ne'er a drop of grog; 
We went to bed, we slept, we woke, and — all around was fog! 
The winds were hushed, the sea was still, the clouds hung low and dark ; 
And soon the rain began to pour on our devoted bark. 



A RHTMED RECORD. igs 

All day it poured, we almost swore, alas, 't was all in vain ! 
Our invocations could not bring the sun to shine again. 
From this dark place he hid his face and sank at last in night 
To bed, while we looked out to sea and sadly wished for light. 

Next morning came, 'twas still the same: Oh, for the bright blue sky! 
Oh ! with the fresh and joyous breeze across the surge to fly ! 
Oh! for the sunlight and the gale! Hurrah! the rain is done! 
Hurrah! 'tis noon, and from the clouds bursts forth the glorious sun! 

Quick! set our sail! the breeze may fail! Away, across the sea! 
Over the blue and boundless deep, our thoughts and souls as free! 
Blow, O ye winds, and crack your cheeks! and in a little while 
We'll land our swift and gallant bark at stern "Monhegan's" isle. 

Farewell, Boothbay! another day, in sunshine or in rain. 

We trust our smooth and gliding keel may touch thy shores again. 

Farewell, ye hardy sailor men who cruise this -stormy sea, 

The navy's pride, the nation's hope, the bulwark of the free. 

SIX HOURS AFTER. 

Thank God ! we 're back ! We 've tried the track across the placid seas ! 
With eager sail we wooed the gale ; alas, there was no breeze ! 
Far down the bay upon our way we gazed toward the shore : 
Soon to return, our wishes burn, we needs must pull the oar. 

Oh, fickle wind! why can't you find a little time to blow ? 

Why don't the breeze rush o'er the seas and make the " Lawson " go.^ 

' T is awful dull an oar to pull along this lazy water! 

There's no romance in such a dance with grum old Neptune's daughter! 

Once more on land, we greet the strand we gaily left this morning, 
And blame our eyes that in the skies could see no signs of warning! 
We meet our landlord's smiling face, and, well as we are able. 
Forget ovu- woes, while seated close beside his genial table. 

Soon safe in bed, this weary head will dream that on the morrow 
The sun's bright rays the fog may chase, and with it drive our sorrow. 
To all good-night, till morning light! As still and slow are creeping 
The hours along, we'll cease our song, and rest the muse while sleeping. 

SEPTEMBER TWELFTH. 

' T is morn, and over town and bay 
September's fog hangs cold and gray. 
I rub the sleep from out my eyes, 
And gaze around in mute surprise. 
Where is the Sun.^ Oh, tell me where! 
Where is the bright-blue sky.' 
In the dense fog before me there. 
One scarcely can descry 



ig^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Those tall and tapering masts which gleam 
Reflected from the glassy stream ! 
The languid sails hang o'er the deep ; 
The very air seems fast aleep ; 
And neither breath, nor sound, nor motion 
Disturbs this smooth and tranquil ocean, 
Whose calmly dark and silent breast 
Seems typical of endless rest. 

I step down to the "Lawson's" side, 
To see if on the rising tide 
Her graceful keel is yet afloat : 

What do I see? It cannot be! 
Some fiend has stolen our boat! 

SEPTEMBER TWELFTH AT SEA. 

When, while ago, I ceased my song, 

My soul was filled with sense of wrong. 

Some sailor of the mackerel fleet. 

Some rascally wretch whom I 'd like to meet, 

His lazy carcass from shore to ferry 

On board of his ship, had stole our wherry ! 

' T was no true sailor! That could not be! 

Those daring conquerors of the sea 

Who over the ocean in victory 

Have borne the flag of the brave and the free — 

There cannot be one of them but feels 

How vile a thing is the wretch that steals! 

'T was not a sailor! I've stood by the gun. 

When the fight was past and the victory won ; 

When the deck was soaked with the crimson flood 

Of our slaughtered comrades' well-spent blood; 

While the curling smoke of the bursted shell, 

Whose rending crash was the seaman's knell. 

Still hung festooned in the transom's shade. 

And over the shattered port-hole strayed. 

I 've gazed on the faces of those around, 

Of the sailors who yet had escaped a wound. 

Who sternly stand where their messmates lie, 

And look that they mean to conquer or die; 

I 've gazed on those faces, all powder and grime, 

And thought, "Can such men commit a crime.?" 

Those tars who for years have been rocked to sleep 

On the heaving breast of the boundless deep, — 

Who have seen with awe the Almighty's form 

Mirror itself on the front of the storm, — 

Who, summoned on deck by the thunder's drum. 

Calmly await that the tempest may come. 



A RHYMED RECORD. i95 

And -with steady nerve, and with fearless eve, 
Watch the red hghtnings cleave the sky, — 
Who, far on those wastes that no foot has trod, 
Have almost seen in the face of their God, — 
Who have met the broadside's reeling rack 
With a shout and a cheer, and dashed it back, — 
Who in battle's roar, in the whirlwind's blast. 
Proudly lash themselves and their flag to the mast, — 
The American Seamen! Oh, who too well 
In his honor can speak, of his fame can tell! 
No, 'twas not a sailor! I take it back! 
That "bounty -jumper" who stole our smack 
On yesterday night, could only have been 
Some "pitiful cuss" of a "boss marine!" 

We took a pull through the mackerel fleet, 
Hoping our wherry by chance to meet; 
And soon, by a rakish schooner's side. 
Far down in the harbor, we found her tied. 
The skipper said that at early dawn 
He saw her adrift and to save her had gone. 
Whether 'twas true, or whether he lied. 
Was a question we could n't just then decide: 
For truth's dear sake we gave him a " quarter, " 

And towed our skiff home o'er the shining water. 

Ah! now it breezes! The glorious day 

Has driven the fog and the clouds away! 

Up, up with our sail! Ere the svm has set 

The Lawson may glide to Monhegan yet! 

Swift as the sea-gull, our vessel brave 

Is flying along o'er the joyous wave! 

She bounds on high on its foaming crest! 

She plunges her prow in its briny breast! 

With a graceful toss of her head, away 

She playfully dashes its glittering spray. 

And stoops to the kiss of the eager tide. 

As its waves stretch their hands up to clasp their bride! 

Sail on, my beauty! My darling, sail on! 

With the speed of the dolphin, and grace of the swan! 

No lovlier image of beauty than thee 

Ever beained on the breast of the beautiful sea! 

Afar on the dim horizon's verge, 
Where the bending skies from the deep emerge, 
Where the crimson clouds and the waters meet, 
See the slender spars of the mackerel fleet ! 



7^6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

They are sounding the depths of the ocean world [ 
Topsail and foresail and jib are furled : 
With inainsheet aft and with helm alee, 
Thej' are " lying to" on the bright-blue sea, 
While with busy hook and extended seine 
They are seeking their finny prize to gain. 

Now the breeze fails us! 'Twill blow no more! 

We mvist tack our sloop for the distant shore! 

Now it dies away calm! There's no longer a breath! 

And the ocean grows glassy and still as death. 

See I see ! from seaward the fog bank creep ! 

It spreads its pall o'er the breathless deep! 

We must pull for the harbor while yet 'tis light. 

Or sleep in its clammy shroud to-night. 

Now we bend to the laboring oar! 
Lazily, wearily! 
Mournfully, drearily! 

Joy! The breeze kisses our sails once more! 
We slacken the sheet, 
The light zephyrs to meet, 

Steadily northeast by east we steer; 
If the wind will but stay 
Till the close of the day, 

With our truth-telling compass, we've nothing to fear! 
We pantingly list for the surge's roar, 
As it bursts in foam on the rock-bound shore. 
" Breakers ahead!" comes the thrilling cry! 
"Hard down with the helm!" is the quick reply: 
And our "darling'' gracefully swerves from her track. 
And comes to the wind on the starboard tack. 
Now the fog lightens! We see the sky! 
May we make our port ere the day shall die! 
What 's that looming up on our starboard bow i 
It is Squirrel Island! I know it now! 
And there, ahead, is the harbor's light, 
To guide us to safety; we're right! we 're right! 
Soon through the anchored fleet we glide ! 
Soon to her wharf is the Lawson tied! 
Farewell to-night to the watery main ! 
We are snugly at rest in Boothbay again. 

SEPTEMBER THIRTEENTH SUNDAY. 

' T is Sabbath morning, the sky is bright ; 
The fog has gone with the shades of night. 
Over the bay, and on the town, 
The autvnnn sun shines sweetly down, 



A RH7'MED RECORD. ig-j 

The Lawson rests on the limpid deep, 
Her sails are furled, and the wind is asleep. 
Rest, rest, till to-morrow, my beauty! and then 
Thou shalt bear us afar on the ocean again. 

-SEPTEMBER FOURTEENTH AT SE.\. 

Hail to the day! the glorious day! 

The sky is bright, and the wind is free! 
Spread our sail to the gale, and away, away 

Let us speed o'er the sparkling sea ! 
How joyous and brightly the ocean smiles! 
The waves laugh in glee round the dimpling isles. 
How the}' clingingly creep up the pebbly strands! 
How they leap o'er the breakers, and clap their hands. 
As they climb up the cliff there whose rugged form 
Is their sport in the calm, and their wrath in the storm. 
O ye who have never yet sailed on the sea. 
Ye know not in truth what it means to be free ! 
Ye maj' rove in the forest, or climb on the mountain. 
Or glide o'er the river, or lave in the fountain. 

Or bound o'er the prairie in chase of the deer, 
And think you are happy, — but never, oh, never, 
Should the thread of life's joy be extended forever. 
Can you feel the wild thrill of ecstatic emotion 
That is breathed in your breast from the breast of tha ocean, 

As over its billows you proudly career! 

Now we spring up the steep 
Of the hills of the deep, 

And float on the foam of the crested wave! 
Now we breathlessly glide 
Down its emerald side. 

To the gaping gulf of an ocean grave. 
But from topmast to keelson " our darling " is strong, 
And as light as she's swift, or the length of my song 
Would be short as that " lay of the Wise men of Gotham, " 
Who cruised in a bowl, and who went to the bottom. 
True, flie rhyme doesn't say so; and some may dispute 

The conclusion which "Mother Goose" deigns not to state; 
Still, I boldly defy all the world to confute 

The assumption that such was their probable fate. 

The gale has wafted us far from shore ; 
Alas, it is gone! We're becalmed once more. 
On Atlantic's broad bosom we helplessly lie. 
And gaze at the coast with a hopeless eye, 
25 



ig8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

While a mile to the leeward, off south bj sou'west, 
All the mackerel fleet, like ourselves, are at rest; 
Like a great flock of swans, see those five hundred sail. 
With their white wings stretched, lazily waiting the gale. 

"Tliere she blows!" Where? See there, see that column of spray! 

In his measureless home see the monster at play! 

Quick! the boat! the harpoon! We may catch him asleep! 

Shall we dare to approach the grand king of the deep? 

Should our wherry be caught by the sweep of his tail. 

That he is a whale he might make us bewail. 

See, there! see, he sounds! With a snort and a roar. 

He has plunged to his depths, and we see him no more. 

We scan the smooth ocean in search of the prey. 

For whose capture we 've longed through the whole of the day. 

I climb to the top of the tapering mast. 

At the throat of the mainsail I lash myself fast. 

And sweep with my spy -glass the waste of the sea. 

Still hoping the fin of a sword-fish to see. 

With the roll of the billows I swing and I reel ; 

That I soon shall be sea-sick I suddenly feel ; 

On the smooth shining ocean there is not a speck 

To be seen, so I gladly return to the deck. 

And lazily yet. 

Still we heave and we set; 

And we roll and we splash 

In the surge with a dash ; 
And the jib, with a flap, gives the mainsail a slap. 
Which requites the rude blow with a terrible clap ; 
And the mainmast alone gives a creak and a moan, 
And the rudder responds, with a squeak and a groan. 
" We 're becalmed ! we 're becalmed ! 
If we ain't, I '11 be — hanged!" 

Ah, if there 's one phase of the glorious sea. 
Of this royal old ocean so blue and so free. 
In whose favor no word can be stated, I ain 
Very sure in my mind that that phase is a calm ! 
But see! to the eastward that dark-blue line! 
' T is a light wind curling the ocean's brine ! 

' Tis coming! our sail 

Feels the kiss of the gale, 
And our "darling" awakes with a start and a thrill; 

She has long been asleep 

On the breast of the deep. 
But she's eager to bound o'er the billows still. 



A RHYMED RECORD. igg 

Now we gently glide 

O ' er the darkening tide ; 
The night has come, and the sun has set; 

But the stars will arise, 

And the glittering eyes 
Of " Orion " and " Venus " will light us yet. 

By Astarte's dim light, 

See, the land heaves in sight! 
On the wild waste of ocean no longer we rove; 

We double the cape 

Of Ram Island, and shape 
Our course for a harbor in Mackerel Cove. 
Down mainsail and jib! Let go anchor! we' II stay 
Here all snugly and safe till the dawn of the day. 
See! there on the bank shines the light of a store! 
For a shelter we'll seek! Launch our boat! Pull to shore! 

From oiu- oars, as they splash. 

See the waves, how they flash! 
Our track through the water is marked by the light 

Of the phosphorus gleam, 

As it shines in the stream. 
Like a million of stars in an ocean of night! 

Look! down through the jet 

Of the deep, see that net! 
Each cord and each mesh is embroidered with fire! 

' T is a sight that a landsman can never forget, 
A wonder a sailor may always admire. 

Did you ever go " phosphorus hunting " at night. 

On the beach at the " Pool" when the waves were bright.-' 

When the breakers, curling along the strand. 

Burst in floods of stars on the sparkling s.and, 

And the dark-browed billows advance and retire. 

Their glittering crests each a plume of fire, — 

When the world around is entranced in sleep, 

Soft tones seem to breathe with the breath of the deep! 

Low, murmuring sighs o'er the waters roam, 

Sweet sobs from some love-lorn mermaid's home. 

Go then to the sea-shore! But go not alone! 

Have two other bright orbs by the side of your own! 

Gaze deep in their depths, and you'll see with surprise 

How the "phosphorus" burns in the light of her eyes! 

In fact, it is said there is not any use 

To "go hunting" alone, you your tiine will but lose: 

But stray on the beach by the side of the. fair. 

And you're morally sure to find "phosphorus" there. 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

In fancy I sit, of a summer night, 

On that beacli, by the side of a lady bright. 

Her hand is chained, but Iier heart is free 

As the wind that roams o'er the trackless sea. 

I see each thought of her spirit rise 

In the liquid depths of her hazel eyes; 

I hear her tone's low music swell 

As sweet and soft as a silver bell; 

And bright, as the moonlit waves that roll 

Their gems at our feet, is the glance of her soul. 

We dream not of love. It would be a crime 

With such feelings to sully this holy time. 

There is nought of earth on that gentle brow! — 

The stars of heaven illumine it now, 

And the purest of heaven's emotions trace 

Their lines of light on that angel face. 

We muse of the poets, aqd Milton's strain 

Sounds its solemn chords in our ears again ; 

We watch the light clouds as they pass the moon, 

And think, as they pass, so will pass too soon 

The tranquil joy of this happy hour. 

That holds us tranced in its magic power. 

We sailed that day o'er the placid wave, — 

We had watched the sun to his western grave, — 

We had seen the tints of the summer even 

Grow dim on the azure arch of heaven, — 

And felt, as we gazed on the fading sky. 

How beauty, and life, and light must die. 

We spoke not then, but her lily hand 

As she silently gazed on the starlit strand. 

Trembled in mine, and it seemed to say 

All that was left unsaid that day. 

Ah, lady! if thou shouldst remember yet 

Those happy hours which I can't forget. 

In some future turning of life's long lane, 

I'll bet the "peanuts" we meet again! 

But enough of this sentiment! Let us go back 

To the place where our wherry was cleaving her track 

From our sloop to the shore, where we went, as I said. 

With the hope we might find in some shanty a bed. 

'Tis sad to relate that our search was in vain. 

We must " come back to roost " on the Lawson again ! 

In the bunt of the mainsail we mournfully creep, 

And without bed or blankets endeavor to sleep. 

Through the night, in our shelter we shiver and sneeze, 

For canvas serves poorly to keep off a breeze. 



A RHYMED RECORD. 

Toward morning, the captain, half frozen, peeps forth, 
And thinks that the wind's to the '' no'th'ard of north. " 

Now up with our anchor! And as the gray dawn 

Sheds its light on the ocean, the Lawson speeds on. 

P"ar away to the eastward the radiant charms 

Of the morning are spread from Aurora's bright arms. 

See that flushing of crimson, and purple, and gold, 

As the gates of the sun their bright portals unfold! 

See those clouds in the west! how they change from their gray. 

And blush 'neath the glance of the god of the day! 

Lo! He comes! and away flee the shades of the night! 

The foam-crested billow is crowned with his light! 

Lo! He comes! Like a conqueror, glorious and free. 

And full-orbed in his splender, he springs from the sea. 

The sky is bright, the breeze is fair, 

Our mainsail flowing full and free! 

O Xeptune ! Grant our humble prayer. 

That we in Portland soon may be! 

Two hours glide past. 

Our sloop 's tied fast 
All safe and snug at Portland pier; 

Let ' s step on shore — 

We sail no more 
Till we have had some breakfast here. 
Refreshed, we rove around the town 
To " see the sights, " and then come down 
And get the Lawson under way. 
Straight homeward bound for Saco Bay. 

Swiftly out of the harbor we glide: 

To double the cape shall we dare to try.' 
The wind is meeting the ebbing tide. 

And the waves are running infernally high. 

Ah! those who only have cruised the sea 

With a summer breeze, and an easy sail, 
Know little how savage old Ocean can be 

When lashed into wrath by an autumn gale. 

With headlong race 

How the billlows chase 
Each other in wild pursuit and flight; 

How their foam-crests toss 

Their white plumes across 
The whirl of this watery field of fight. 

See the dash, hear the crash of the surges' roar, 
As they rush in their rage up the rugged shore! 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

In a desperate endeavor 
Now, now to sit, or never. 

On high on the sea-girt rock. 
Who froin his hoary crown 
Proudly casts the stormers down, 

But trembles to his base at their shock. 

Rolling and plunging, we struggle yet! 

With a dread that we dare not speak, 
We see that the Lawson's hold is wet. 

Can our vessel have sprung a leak .' 
Quick! quick to the pump! Put the helm hard down ! 
Let us tack, if we can, and return to town. 
Will she come to the wind.'' Will she go in stays.^ 
If she don't, ' t is the last of the Lawson's days. 
Ah ! she minds her helm ! She is falling off ! 
She buries her breast in the ocean's trough ! 
She shakes herself free from the grasp of the wave ! 
She feels she has us and herself to save ! 
With a start and a shiver she bovinds on high! 
Sail and mainmast quiver ; she seems to iiy ! 
The eager billows pursue in vain ! 
She is safe under lee of the land again. 

We lazily wander about the town. 
And wait, till the gale with the sun goes down. 
The tempest subsides with the day's decline. 
We are gliding once more on the heaving brine. 
Past the forts in the harbor, the light-house past, 
Elizabeth's Cape we have reached at last. 
And, ere the sun in the glowing west 
Has sunk in his crimson couch to rest. 
With an easterly breeze, and a bounding sea, 
We have Richmond's Island under our lee. 
And now, as gather the shades of night. 
See the flashing gleam of Wood Island light ! 
Which points the course that our sloop must steer. 
And shines o'er the waters, our way to cheer. 
The waste of ocean in gloom is wrapped, — 
Each frowning billow with foam is capped, — 
Darkness and silence are on the deep, — 
And I muse, as our course to the light I keep : 
How many who sail o'er life's troubled sea 
Have no beacon to tell what their course shall be! 
From the cradle of birth, to the door of the tomb, 
They wander benighted in hopeless gloom. 



A RHTMED EECORD. 



203 



Ah! why can thej see not the gleam of that light 
Which will lead their lone way through eternity's night? 
The Light-House of Ages! It shines from afar, 
Unquenched, and undying! Bright Bethlehem's Star! 
O Father in Heaven! Please grant we may see 
That its radiance was given to guide us to Thee ! 

The breeze has refreshed! Our bending mast 
Seems to point to the shore we are nearing fast. 
Wood Island is down on our larboard bow, — 
We see the lights in our village now. 
Down mainsail and jib! We are close to shore! 
We clasp the warm hands of our friends once more! 
Farewell ! on the ocean no longer we roam ; 
Our story is finished. The " Lawson" is home. 

BiDDEFORD Pool, Sept. 22, 1868. 




A HOME-MADE PILOT. 



THE nautical skill of our shore fishermen, and their 
knowledge of dangerous localities along our coast, are illus- 
trated by the following: 

A SEABROOK MAN SAVES A STEAMER. 

It was Willard A. Fowler, son of Richard Fowler, of Seabrook, who went 
to the rescue of the English steamer Wetherbj, on the morning of the 20th of 
March, 18S1, lost in the fog off Salisbury Beach, and it was only by his thor- 
oiigh knowledge of this section of coast where the steamer lay that a third and 
fatal disaster was averted, like unto the one off Vineyard Haven, and the second 
off New Brunswick. The section of coast where the Wetherby ran on, and 
the Sir Francis was lost in 1873, comprises some five hundred acres of ledge. 
The steamer ran completely upon the ledge of rock, bounding over two shoal 
places, and when stopped had only eighteen inches of water under her keel. 
The captain, finding himself in so perilous a position, at once sounded his 
steam Avhistle, and continued it from four o'clock Sunday afternoon until Mr. 
Fowler approached, in his little dory, at 3 o'clock Monday morning. It was 
then that the skill of the young man who knew every inch of the rocky ledge 
beneath — ^its length, breadth and depth — became available in saving this large 
steamer and valuable cargo; for she was 340 feet long, only nine months old 
and belonged in Westpool, England. 

After an hour spent in parleying with the captain as to the way of getting 
out, with the wind increasing all the while, and the sea commencing to break 
on all sides, and convincmg the captain that if it was at all possible to save his 
ship the effort must be made on that tide, he gave the direction of the course 
to be followed, to the captain. " You must back her, " said he. The captain 
hesitated to give the word, as he feared she would strike the pinnacle of the 
ledge. Finally the great ship went astern and Mr. Prowler took the helm, and 
she was swung slowly round into a gully or rift in the ledge, about two rods 
wide, with the sides sloping down like the steep roof of a house. " Are you 



A HOME-MADE PILOT. 203 

sure this course will take us off? " asked the captain. " I am not sure of any- 
thing" was the reply; "but I am sure it is the only course of safety." The 
ship had a foot of spare water under her keel ; twenty minutes later and she 
was in twenty fathoms, and all was safe. 

"What shall I pay you.'" said the captain. "What I have done" said the 
intelligent fisherman, " is a deed of kindness ; I shall set no price on that. " 
The captain gave him a $20 gold piece and urged him to continue with him 
to Boston, but after watching the ship pass Cape Ann in safety, he left in his 
dory for home. Had the captain attempted to follow his own course he 
would certainly have lost his ship, and perhaps a portion if not all of his crew 
of thirty men. Here was a ship and cargo, valued at half a million dollars, 
saved from destruction by the skill of a humble fisherman. 



26 



FALL FISHING. 



THE Fall season of 1884 was not propitious for fishing 
at the Pool, for, with good weather and plenty of bait, the 
fishing all went to the "dogs." The dog-fish "ruled the 
roast " and came off victorious. They remained a fort- 
night later than usual, and where, the previous season, the 
fisherman had six weeks of good hauling, during the present 
one, ending the ist of November, they scarcely earned their 
salt. These dog-fish are excessively annoying to fishermen. 
They swim in intermediate water, and intercept the bait to 
such a degree that it is almost impossible to reach the cod, 
which wait plenty enough at the bottom. They are as vo- 
racious as New Jersey mosquitoes, and not much more 
valuable when caught, as they have to be, yielding only a 
little oil and thin .substance not profitable for land dressing. 
With a good catch of Fall fish, ordinarily, the fishermen 
haul up their boats by the ist of November, with con- 
tented hearts, their net profits adequate for their winter 
supply. Large codfish come in upon the shoal banks, say 
from six to ten fathoms, and often the Jennie B., with four 
men, would capture from 3000 to 4000 pounds. Some 
fifty men were engaged this season, in the fruitless pursuit 
of fish. 

Herring were plenty in October, though they usually 
strike off in the Fall. A visit to the Pool about the mid- 



FALL FISHING. 207 

die of October revealed the true condition of things. The 
boys had been out scouring the rocks and trolling for fish, 
without success, but Capt. Frank had struck a bonanza of 
herring, and was busy bailing them out from a 16-foot 
dory, in which, from the lack of barrels, they had been 
salted. These herring were the product of two nets, set 
outside of Wood Island, into which sixty barrels of herrings 
had put themselves. These nets sank to the bottom, re- 
quiring six men, two dories and a seine boat to raise 
them so that they could be picked. One of the nets 
was entirely destroyed and the other one damaged. 
The herring were all transferred to barrels. Capt. Frank 
was eloquent regarding the general luck, and his yarns 
about the dog-fish, and the difficulty of getting a "sound" 
on account of them, would seem sufficient to exhaust all 
the " tongues and sounds " in the fisherman's vocabulary. 

An October day, with the bo3'S, in the Jennie B., affords 
an average chapter of experiences. At 4, a. m., when deep 
sleep rested upon the denizens of the Pool, came a gentle 
tap at the window, and responding "All right," I was in 
an instant on my feet and beginning to dress. I was not 
long in following Albert to the landing, where the skipper, 
with the boys, were all ready for a day's business upon the 
Peak. The crew consisted of Capt. W. F. Goldthwaite, 
Albert Goldthwaite, Baker Leggalee, Irving Milgate, and 
myself. It was a bright starlight morning and the promise 
seemed good for a pleasant day. There were, however, 
signs that had a different meaning to the fishermen, who 
live by the sea and watch its changes. It had rained hard 
the night previous, with a good deal of distant thunder and 
lightning. Some thought the wind would settle in the N. 
E., and that we should have a storm from that direction, 
it having been blowing from the S. E.; others thought 
there was every evidence of a fine day. 

We were on the deck of the Jennie B. by 5 o'clock, 
and variously employed in getting ready to start on our 



2o8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

fishing expedition. As we slipped our mooring we noticed 
that the main land and the islands were becoming slowly 
enveloped in a thick mist. The moisture that had fallen 
during the night had made the Jennie B. look quite dingy, 
which led Capt. Frank to remark that the yacht had " a 
thick coat of Portland dock paint on her." The wind was 
very light, with a sort of gray look around the horizon. 
Close to the water a thick fog had set in, and as we 
passed Wood Island and Gooseberry Island we could only 
see the trees upon the one and the high ground upon the 
other, although we were in close proximity. We were 
obliged to move very carefully toward Washburn, the 
breakers upon which could be distinctly heard, but, al- 
though we passed within a stone's throw of the rock, we 
could not see the water dash upon it. Our next move was 
to run outside of Beach Island and the ledges to South 
Point, where nets had been set for herring, which, at this 
season of the year, are required for bait. The dory, with 
two men, left the Jennie B., in search of the nets, which 
were found without much trouble, and the fog lifted suffi- 
ciently to allow us to see them picking out the fish. John 
Amber, a veteran fisherman, in a dory, was also taking 
his "pick," forming a part of the picture. 

We secured a barrel of herring and struck out for the 
Peak at 7:30, a. m., taking the veteran Amber in. The 
sloop W. H. Clement was ahead of us, having got from 
fifteen to twenty minutes' start, owing to delay at the 
herring nets. The fog had cleared off a good deal before 
we reached the Peak, so that we could discern the shore- 
marks for a few moments at a time. Judging that we 
were nearing the ground, we rounded to and sounded, and 
found ourselves in 40 fathoms. We wanted, really, but 
from 36 to 38 fathoms. Backed and filled till we dropped 
anchor in 37 fathoms, at 10:30, a. m. We immediately 
commenced fishing, but found, to our sorrow, that we had 
dropped anchor in the vicinity of innumerable "kennels" 



FALL FISHING. 2og 

where dogfish do congregate, and for two hours we fought 
the fiends, occasionally, however, hauling in a handsome 
codfish, but not often enough to make the business remu- 
nerative. 

At about 12 o'clock the captain raised his finger, as if 
it were a barometer, and said : " We are going to have a 
change in the weather, and that pretty quick. Come, Al- 
bert, let us put a reef in the mainsail." This was done, 
the sail lowered and clewed up, as was also all the other 
sails, too, by this time, as it was evident that we should have 
a blow. The sea was dotted all around with sails, and, to 
windward, one after another of the fleet either reefed or 
hauled down their canvas. The sky in the west and north- 
west looked angry enough, and, being out so far, trouble 
was anticipated; therefore we prepared for the worst. 
About 1 2 :30 the wind came, with a vengeance, threatening 
to carry all before it, but found the Jennie B. fully pre- 
pared to receive the squall, which lasted, very heavily, for 
some minutes, and then settled down into a severe north- 
west blow, with occasionally ugly puffs. 

As soon as it was possible to raise our anchor we did 
so, though it was a hard matter to manage. Our strong- 
est men could not start the hawser one inch. We then 
hoisted our double-reefed mainsail, but this, with reefed jib 
was not sufficient to beat up to our anchor. The foresail 
was then added, which accomplished the purpose, and the 
anchor was soon upon deck. The next thing was to de- 
termine whether to run to the northward or stand in 
towards the land to the westward. We concluded to head 
towards the land, hoping to be able to keep our course to 
Cape Porpoise, but the sea was so rough that, with pitch- 
ing and tossing, and the wind striking the vessel abeam, 
headway was stopped materially, and the best we could do, 
under the circumstances, was to head up to Wells Bay, 
where we found the wind increasing and the sea rougher 
than when we started upon the shore tack. After running 



2IO GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

about five miles we tacked to the northward, and crossed 
over our outward direct line about four miles from our late 
anchorage ground. We were staggering along under 
double-reefed mainsail and jib, though twice we had set 
the foresail, that was hauled down as quickly as it was 
set. When any one hears a skipper give an order to 
" Lower the foresail, and do it qliick ! " and then cry " Stand 
by the mainsail!" the dullest may guess the fact that it 
"means business." On our shore tack, we headed, this 
time, pretty well up to Timber Island, and when we 
tacked to the northward we fetched a point about two 
miles to the south-east of Wood Island. Through all the 
blow the hands of Capt. Frank were upon the tiller of 
the Jennie B,, his weather eye to windward watching the 
puffs and ugly streaks of wind as they fled on their way 
to the south-east, causing the boats in their track to trem- 
ble. We were fortunate, as we neared the Washburn, 
to find smooth water, and, after making one or two short 
tacks, passed in by Gooseberry Island, reaching our moor- 
ings at 6:45, p. M. We had sailed twenty-five miles to 
overcome less than ten, occupying about six hours. Thus 
ended the cruise of the Jennie B. for 1884. 

The story of the storm cannot be complete, however, 
without naming the experience of others in the elemental 
strife. The W. H. Clement started from the fishing-ground 
before the squall, and had got about half way in before 
it came on, but was obliged to anchor, as she had in tow 
a dory full of herring, and the water swashed so that 
there was danger of its capsizing. The sloop Agnes, 
Capt. Wm. M. Hussey, succeeded in making a favorable 
tack to the northward, and, under double-reefed mainsail, 
weathered the blow in a very ship-shape manner. A brig, 
running down before the wind, bound to the eastward, had 
her yards and sails hove aback by the sudden nor 'wester, 
and it was some time before the crew could bring the ves- 
sel to her bearings and take in sail. A few mackerel- 




-=^ 



M' 



^ 



\>i 



FALL FISHING. an 

catchers were seen here and there, ploughing along 
through the sea under close-reefed sails, having no port in 
view, but scudding their way along like' sea-gulls. The 
two small boats that we towed out to the Peak started in 
before the blow came on, and had nearly reached a place 
of safety, when they were struck by the squall. Amber 
proceeded as well as he could, with his "tender sail," until 
he was overhauled by the Agnes and towed in. Capt. 
Bruell anchored, as he could make no headway, his oars 
being blown out of the rowlocks and moving impossible. 
Freeman Rich, who was on the fishing-grounds, endeav- 
ored to reach the land and was obliged to anchor, and 
the life-boat crew, from the Life-Saving station, were sent 
off to his assistance. It was a "galy" day for the spirits 
of the deep, but as no calamity attended the demonstra- 
tion, the mortals who participated in it may talk about it 
as a chapter from the book of their experiences. 

SWORDFISH. 

Swordfish are taken without interference from "dogs," 
and the summer of 1884 yielded a prolific harvest to the 
fishermen of the Pool, the Eva A. Race, Capt. Warren 
Rich, and the Etta B. Rich taking nearly a hundred each. 
These two made swordfish a specialty. Other vessels en- 
gaged, in part, were proportionally successful. These con- 
sisted of the W. H. Clement, Capt. Jacob Verrill, Emma 
Pearl, and the iVgnes. Portland has been the market. 
Swordfish were very plenty all along the shore from 
Block Island to Mount Desert, and large numbers have 
been captured off Seguin and Monhegan. For a de- 
scription of the modes of taking swordfish, the reader 
is referred to details in other pages of this volume. There 
is no end to interesting stories of swordfish capture, and 
the listener sits entranced to hear the hardv fisherman 
reel off his yarn of adventures that make him an object of 
admiration. They are stories of daring and peril, and the 



212 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

garrulous old "salt" loves to tell them, even though they 
wax ancient from recital, but the experiences he describes 
are far more interesting than amusing, and the listener 
would hardly like to fill his position to win his fame. It 
may be romantic and brave and picturesque to balance for 
hours on the end of a bowsprit, in a pulpit, with pole and 
dart in hand waiting for game, but the fisherman fails to 
see it, his thought bent on some occupation on shore. He 
would willingly change places with his listener, even if he 
were not worth more than a few up-town blocks and a 
cotton mill; and he who swings at the mast-head, on the 
look-out, takes a wider view than the limited deck below, 
and longs for a " cot beside the hill " where he can plough 
the land instead of the sea. Of course the same men are 
not confined to the same constrained position. Where a 
crew consists of three or four they change places, but their 
lot is a hard one, any way, and they would gladly resign 
their most exalted place for some employment a little 
nearer the level of the deck. There is an interesting story 
told, among the incidents of last summer, relating to the 
taking of a swordfish. As the W. H. Clement neared a 
swordfish catcher, it was observed that the vessel's dory 
was being pulled on deck. When the Clement was within 
hail, the skipper of the strange vessel cried: "If you'll 
secure that barrel and swordfish warp you may have the 
fish." Capt. Jacob went for the fish, and secured it with- 
out much difficulty. When the barrel and warp were 
landed on the vessel — from Portland as it proved — ■ the 
fact was revealed that two men in a dory were in the act 
of capturing the fish, when suddenly the monster came to 
the surface and commenced swimming around the boat, 
during which operation he had driven his sword through 
the bow streak of the dory, causing a formidable rent, and 
the men were obliged to abandon the fish, still attached to 
their barrel, and attend to their boat, which was leaking 
badly. -They stuffed their oil jackets into the leak, and 



FALL FISHING. 



^'3 



then, by sitting in the stern, which brought the bow out 
of water, they were enabled to get back to the vessel. 

The Jennie B.'s dory was fastened to a large swordiish 
for three hours, with two men fighting for his capture, be- 
fore he could with safety be brought to the surface. 




OLD TIME FISHERMEN. 



THE Swampscott correspondent of the Lynn Union, in 
speaking of the fishermen of fifty years ago, goes over to 
Marblehead, to us the " Cunny Lane" and "Barnegat 
boys," representatives of " Mugford," who captured the 
British powder ship and ran her through the blockade into 
Boston harbor in 1777, descendants of Gerry, of Revolu- 
tionary fame, and Colonel Glover, who commanded a regi- 
ment of Marblehead fishermen, the boys who paddled 
George Washington across the Delaware and landed him 
safely on the plains of New Jersey — Descendants of the 
men who manned the frigate " Constitution " or who were 
starved in the dungeon of the prison ship "Jersey," and 
later on who participated as privateer men in the war of 
1812-14. 

Capt. Thos. Widger, the old hero of many a close en- 
counter on the ocean's highway, was a privateersman, and 
later well known in Swampscott as a sturdy fisherman, 
who, tired of the Grand Banks and merchant service, set- 
tled down among our townsmen and lived to a good old 
age. Dying, he left a good name behind him, and a large 
generation who appear to be endowed with much of the 
old gentleman's patriotism and devotion to country. 

Another of the old-timers, is Captain John P. Harris, 
who came from Marblehead to Swampscott fifty 3'ears ago. 



OLD TIME FISHERMEN. atj 

and is still here, hale and hearty at the good old age of 
82 years. May he still continue to stop with us. " Cap'n 
Jack," as he is cleverly called by his intimate friends, is a 
gentleman who has spent nearly his whole life on the 
ocean, and principally as a fisherman. Fifty-two years ago 
he was skipper of the "Paul Jones," a Marblehead fishing 
vessel of fifty-eight tons burden. His last trip to the 
Grand Banks, of Newfoundland, in this craft, was made in 
1832, and it was a voyage thrilling with narratives of the 
sea. Leaving Marblehead in August, with a crew of 
seven men, the second day out the vessel sprung a leak, 
and put into Portland for repairs, the Banks being reached 
without further disaster. The season's catch began, and 
the result was 12,400 codfish — a pretty good haul for the 
time engaged (about three months). Nov. 28th, Cap- 
tain Harris, having wet his salt, stood to the west 'ard 
homeward bound. December 5th, he struck a big gale, 
which threw the vessel on her beam ends, and broke in 
live stanchions, lost his boat, and split the main-boom in 
three pieces, scudding for seventy-two hours in a terrible 
sea. The vessel could not possibly beat to wind'ard, and 
after a run of twenty-nine days he made St. Thomas, 
West Indies, " considerably broke up and demoralized," 
says the captain. He lay there twenty days for repairs, 
and then set sail again for home, making the run in nine- 
teen days, when he dropped his anchor in the Vineyard 
Sound, and finally reached the home port, Marblehead, on 
the 2 2d day of February, having been gone six months, 
and passed through more hardships and dangers than he 
ever before or since experienced on the wild old ocean. 
The " Cap'n " succeeded in bringing home his trip of cod, 
but they were well pickled. With few exceptions, his 
friends all supposed the vessel and crew at the bottom of 
the sea, but his good wife never gave him up, but watched 
and waited for his safe return. Instead of bringing the 
customary smoked halibut, and the odoriferous hagdon, he 



2ib GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

presented his wife with a half barrel of sugar, and a keg 
of tamarinds. Captain Harris's memory is fresh and good, 
and to hear him relate his past experiences is really a 
treat to any one who has reverence for the grand old days 
in which our fathers lived in their prime. 

This is a good story of the Lynn Union, but it pales 
before the one about old Capt. Brace, of Salem, one of 
Pingree's captains, who sailed between Salem and Calcutta 
in the Rosa Dexter for many years, and at last retired 
with a grand reputation for seamanship, and yet he never 
knew the first thing about navigation. He made his voy- 
ages by instinct and the stars, and his owners, not know- 
ing his deficiency, never questioned him about it. That he 
made quick voyages was enough for them, and he won 
the title of " The Ninety Day Man." On one voyage, 
near the last of his career, he brought home a service of 
plate, that the captains and underwriters of Calcutta had 
given him for saving their shipping. The facts were that, 
on a bright calm day, in Calcutta river, Capt. Brace was 
seen busily housing his upper spars, and everything was in 
a bustle on board, taking care of the rigging and securing 
the ship. Watchful captains asked why he was doing it, 
and he told them there was going to be a typhoon. He 
was an old fellow and others heeded his example, lowering 
their masts likewise. Some, however, laughed at the old 
man and his prediction, but in an hour or two there came 
on a most tremendous gale, driving ashore those who had 
sneered at him, while those who had imitated him were all 
right. He paraded his present with triumph, but never 
told how he knew the typhoon was coming. One day, 
after he had retired from the sea, he was sitting in the 
sun upon his veranda that overlooked Boston Bay, when 
he suddenly yelled out " A typhoon 's coming! A typhoon 's 
coming!" and it was found that he had been suddenly 
seized with gout, and, through his pain, had betra^^ed the 
secret he had kept so long. 



A DAY AT YORK BEACH. 



THE following rhymed record of a day at York Beach 
may not be inappropriate here, as York is in near neigh- 
borhood with the Pool, and the proceedings of one may 
serve as an alternate for the other: 



POETRY OF THE SHORE. 



The morn is calm, the billows' rhythmic roar, 
Measured to time that time can never beat, 

Rings in grand cadence o'er the sounding shore, 
And foaming surges, with invading feet, 

Press on the silver sands that, evermore, 
Resist attack with a persistence meet. 

Back the assailants constantly compelling. 

Whose ranks are e'er with reinforcements swelling. 

Sublime a scene like this ! as here I stand ; 

Confronting nature in domestic battle. 
Although the sea but simply chafes the land. 

And its deep voice is but as infants' prattle ; 
But when the wintry waves in anger grand 

Assail the shores to make the windows rattle. 
Then is the time — though very few that do it — 
To come a thousand miles, or less, to view it. 

And what a view is this, at morning hour ! 

The deep sea stretching to infinitude. 
Heaving in vast sublimity and power, 

But in the gentle air, with breath subdued, 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

And half awakened, as its eyelids lower, 

Smiles placidly, in beatific mood, 
Meeting the sun, as o'er the distant Nubble 
It comes, a fierce, huge, incandescent bubble. 

A beauteous change! The waves grow sparkling bright 

Beneath the presence of the jocund sun, 
Dancing like fairies 'neath the new born light, 

While Sol looks down, benignant, on the fun! 
And the paternal ocean smiles bedight, 

RoUs on, as bid to do by every one. 
From Byron down, and morning's fretful surges 
Become transmuted into playful splurges. 

Here at York Beach may the sojourner find 

More happiness than anywhere aWaits 
Those who to see old Neptune are inclined, 

Dressed in his bathing suit, who circulates 
His billows lavishly to please each mind. 

If bold or timid, and the heart elates 
To own a serfdom (however independent). 
To the old York sovereign of the sea, resplendent. 

See the horizon into distance dips. 

The heavens there hanging upon earth's far marge, 
And the faint outlines of receding ships, 

(Or schooners) small, in seeming, as a barge; 
While the night's mist before the morning slips, 

Like to some ghost, permit/tedly at large — 
For instance that old one of HamlcPs father. 
Who came it o'er his "cranky " offspring rather. 

Bfione Island, but a candle-stick by daj', 

Stands pointing upward with persistent will. 

Like those who strive to point the heavenly way. 
But stick, tenacious, to earth's doings still; 

Though when the night succeeds, the timely ray 
Doth with glad confidence the sailor fill. 

Sending him on with gratified emotion. 

Lord of himself and master of the ocean. 

There tiny boats row out upon the brine, 

Or else are rowed with cultured muscle strong, 

To gather something in the fishing line. 
That to this province fitly doth belong. 

Where cunners, credulous 'neath ocean shine. 
And round the bait in nibbling numbers throng. 

Until they find, as one of old has spoken, 

A pitcher gone too oft may come back broken. 



A DAT A7' rORK BEACH. 2ig 

Oh! What delight to dawdle o'er the tide, 

With line suspent, addressed to those below, 
And feel the teeth decidedly applied 

Of those there waiting, curious to know 
Just what we'd furnish them, so much denied 

Of luxuries that we have to bestow, 
Until they find, the epicurean sinners. 
That they 're without their jackets, for our dinners. 

It may be cruel in a human sense, 

But just like other things of man's device, 
There 's fun in it of magnitude iinmense. 

And though it may be naughty, it is nice; 
And Mr. Bergh may talk from now till hence. 

Mourning the fish's agonized demise — 
He 'd quite forget the cruelty that hooks 'em — 
To taste the way in which Louisa cooks 'em. 

Talk of your brook trout from your mountain stream! 

They're well enough to those who can't get these; 
Here is the height of epicurean dream, 

The culmination of the art to please; 
The acme of all hope, as all must deem 

Whose appetite is qualified to tease, 
And the impossibility to match 'em 
Is in accordance with the fun to catch 'em. 

The tempting surf to bathing now invites. 

And naiads seek the beach in queer array. 
To revel in the breakers' fierce delights, 

And in abandon gives themselves away; 
' Tis not the most delectable of sights. 

To see such objects in the light of day, 
And I can 't think a wife was ever chose on 
A beach with such abominable clothes on. 

And I have seen a dude with horror held, 

Standing before a party in the wave. 
With every seeming faculty dispelled. 

His outspread hands applied his eyes to save, 
Shocked toforgetfulness as dress rebelled. 

When in the surf the wearers fair did lave, 
And only left the contemplated dimity. 
When apprehensive of a boot's proximity. 

The tide goes out. The watery line retreats , 

As if about relinquishing attack. 
But still the surf, in fierce endeavor, beats 

Upon the shore and then skedaddles back. 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

And, though subdued in myriad defeats, 

'Twill still press on, with power in no wise slack, 
Banging away with a success as futile 
As man's, engaged in some emprise inutile: 

What time I 've roamed along the sounding shore. 
The breakers thundering at my very foot, 

All irrespective, in their equal roar. 
Of favor, as in days of King Canute; 

Minding the monarch not one fraction more 
Than yonder dog, a half amphibious brute. 

Who in the rolling waves defies disaster. 

And plunges in to follow his young master. 

Oh ! restless evermore majestic sea! 

Thy monotone, like music, fills my brain ; 
My heart in deepest sympathy with thee, 

Catches the cadence of thy grand refrain, 
That saddens, as it sounds, a mystery 

Of feeling seemingly akin to pain. 
And yet not quite, a sense of something louder. 
An earnest longing, waked by sinell of chowder. 

* * * * 

Yon is a storm, and far there o'er the main, 
The curtained clouds descend the view to hide, 

A mist pervades the air, and distant rain 

Scuds with the breeze above the ruffled tide; 

The yachtsmen douse their sail, who deem it vain, 
With canvass full, the gathering winds to bide. 

And then drop anchor in the billows' bosom, 

Letting the fierce winds blow as it shall choose 'em. 

Like those philosophers of ancient Spain, 

Who, we are told, when a great deluge poured. 

Magnanimously chose to let it rain. 

With good cigars and other matters stored ; 

And others, too, at such times should be fain, 
When they can 't help a thing, how'er deplored, 

To let it happen with a mind contented. 

The more because it cannot be prevented. 

'T was but a squall — the clouds to seaward sweep. 
The sails are up again, and the bright sun 

Shines on the vapor that the clouds still keep. 
And the fair bow of promise spans the dun, 

The waves again in gay exuberance leap, 

As though exultant, with a playful run, . 



A DA 7' AT YORK BEACH. 

And everything is for the storm more glowing; 
Even the grand old waves seem brighter flowing. 

Now night, in calm benignity, "comes down," 
With stars and silence its paternal "tip,'' 

The lighted cottages that darkness crown, 
And mirthful cadences, from many a lip, 

Plainly reveal, as shadows deeper frown, 

That sea-shore votaries won't give up the ship, 

And there's a saying here, of those who've stayed out, 

It is not late till Nubble Light is played out. 

The Nubble light sheds forth its lurid gleam, 
Succeeded by the starlike ray of Boone, 

And sea and shore seem but a mystic dream, 
A summer phantasy set to the tune 

Of gentle surges, that enchantment seem, 

When, on the dreamer's eyes, outflashing soon, 

A flame appears, by the wide ocean glaring, 

Proclaming that a clambake is preparing. 

Now, of all groundnuts that are dug by man, 
The clam has precedence, and old and young 

Have gustatory longings as the}- scan 

The luscious morsel, scenes like these among. 

Where a weird circle, like those under ban 
Of furies, as the light is round them flung, 

Sit patiently and sing, or, eager looking, 

Waiting for clams that are in seaweed cooking. 

And such was this wherein my palate took 
An active part — more active than my feet — 

And as the bivalves in their shells did cook. 

My watering mouth and eyes, with zeal replete. 

Took in the situation like a book, 

And scene and seasoning made the feast more sweet. 

Needing but this al fresco exposition 

To give supreme delight to deglutition. 

Ah, old York Beach! I '11 bear away from thee 
A rich remembrance of tliy sovereign worth. 

Where scenes sublime, and hospitality. 

Made it yon time, the crown of all the earth ; 

Where the deep music of the summer sea 

Blent with the tones of human song and mirth, 

Where cunners fried, the best of little fishes. 

And chowder ruled, the monarch of all dishes. 
28 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

And long within mv inner ear shall sound, 

The rjthm of thy billows as they roll, 
In memory's eye appear their wild rebound, 

As they fall back before the land's control; 
And I shall pray the season be brought round 

When I again may bathe with earnest soul, 
In thy grand tide, needing no bathing garment, 
And, as ' tis only soul, there '11 be no harm in 't. 

Prof. Wideswath. 



SWAMPSCOTT. 




THE ideal fishing village: that for fifty 
*^s>\ years was Swampscott, Mass., an an- 
Vci\ cient hamlet on the coast of Essex 
£| county, until 1852 a part of the city of 
^^ Lynn. If in these latest years, the 
,, ^.^s.^^^ /^-^c5>^^ place, instead of a fishing village, has 
Vi^^^^s^^^^-s^ become a fashionable summer resort, 
with eleganl: villas and thronged hotels, it has the grace not 
to forget, but to glory in, its early industry. The town 
seal, upon which old residents look with unceasing pride, 
represents a Swampscott skipper getting his schooner under 
way at the rising of the sun. The occasion of this just 
pride is in the fact that while the fishing interest was in 
its best days, it was carried on by an exceptionally high 
class of men, and distributed its gains so equitably as to 
benefit, not alone a few favored citizens, but the entire 
community. Notwithstanding that considerable capital was 
embarked in the business, it was carried on upon such 
terms that the men who braved the dangers and per- 
formed the work in catching the fish were the principal 
sharers in the profits. Some of our readers may have 
visited the village of Scheveningen in Holland, the place 
where the herring fisheries, which have brought such 
abundant wealth into the Netherlands, had their origin. 



224 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Like Swampscott, this place has now become a famous 
smnmer resort, but unlike Swampscott her fishermen, who 
have wrested wealth from the waves, have not themselves 
profited by their toils, but have passed their gains over 
into the hands of a few capitalists. While the latter, 
therefore, have grown immensely rich, the workers and 
their families have remained a class by themselves, poor, 
untrained, unaspiring — fishermen and fishwives and nothing 
more. Whereas, the fishermen of Swampscott have been 
men among men. The skipper who commanded a vessel 
was the equal of his crew and shared the same with them; 
and all alike were the equals of the owners, oftener than 
not, being themselves the owners. Thus the man, who 
with his own hands drew the cod from the brine, and who 
as he walked up the beach, clad in his oil suit, may have 
seemed to the sauntering visitor but a common laborer, was 
yet a substantial citizen, having his own comfortable, well- 
furnished home, not devoid of luxuries, and was an influential 
director of the affairs of the town, while his children were 
growing up, well trained and educated, to take their places 
in life beside the sons and daughters of men in the profes- 
sions. A contrast this, to the Dutch fisherman content 
with his pipe, who to-day goes down the Scheveningen 
beach to his place aboard another's ship, followed by his 
peasant wife, carrying on her head his hamper of stores, 
to return and wait for him in a home which will never 
even aspire to those appointments which all Swampscott 
homes contain as matters of course. Truly, as compared 
with foreign fishing interests, or as compared with the con- 
ditions under which the industry is now carried on from 
Gloucester or Boston, those old-time Swampscott ways 
were the very poetry of fishing life. Indeed a berth upon 
a Swampscott vessel in those days, was accounted a prize 
to look forward to, as one may desire a lucrative commer- 
cial appointment. The consequences of this prosperity 
were that a pretty village grew up — almost every house 



5 WAMPSCOTT. 225 

owned by its occupant — and gained for itself in time 
churches, schools, a town organization, and all the ap- 
pliances of modern New England life. 

As to the origin of this fishing industry, it w^as coeval 
with the settlement of our shores. The most distinguished 
name in the early history of Swampscott, is that of 
Deputy Governor John Humphrey, who came from Eng- 
land in 1634 and made this place his home until his return 
in 1641. We have a record that in 1632 a vessel laden 
with fish, of which he was a part owner, was wrecked off 
Cape Charles, and twelve men w^ere drowned. As his in- 
terest in the business would hardly ha^•e ceased when he 
came here upon the ground, w^e may reasonably say that 
Swampscott fishing interests date back 250 3-ears, and be- 
gan under no less honorable auspices than the patronage of 
the w^orshipful Deputy, afterwards General John Humphrey. 
Daniel King also, a merchant of considerable enterprise, 
who died in Swampscott in 1672, is supposed to have been 
interested in fishing. Little, however, can be positively af- 
firmed of the business, until near the close of the 
eighteenth century. Shore fishing from small boats, it may 
be assumed, was alwa3^s carried on to some extent; but in 
1795 James Phillips and several associates purchased a 
schooner of about twenty tons burden, called the " Dove," 
and embarked in a larger enterprise. In 1820, this single 
schooner had given place to six, of from twenty-seven to 
fort}^ tons measurement. Another thirty 3'ears, and the 
fleet, great and small, numbered thirty-nine sail with an 
aggregate of a thousand tons measurement. Three decades 
more and the maximum as to number of sails — reached 
about 1870 — was passed, the fleet consisting in 1886 of 
twenty -four registered vessels, with an aggregate (new or 
custom house) measurement of not far from a thousand 
tons. 

Some noteworthv chancres have been made in the con- 
struction of these Swampscott vessels. The first schooners. 



226 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

known as "jiggers" or "pinkies," were nearly as sharp at 
the stern as at the stem, the stern rising to a point several 
feet higher from the deck than the bow, in which point 
was a groove for resting the main boom. The last 
Swampscott pinkey to be built was the " Bonny Boat," 
constructed in 1836; but it was some twelve years later 
before this style of boat had ceased to be in the majority 
in the fleet. The immediate successors of the pinkey were 
the old fashioned, square-stern, clumsily-built, slow-going 
vessels, modeled after the heavy, sea-going ships, and of 
which the "Banner" was perhaps the best Swampscott 
specimen. The " Launch," one of the last of the pinkies, 
used often to contest with the " Banner " the claim for im- 
provement on the part of these square stern vessels. It is, 
perhaps, doubtful how this contest might have ended, had 
not a new vessel, superior to either, entered the field. In 
1842 the "Jane" was added to the Swampscott fleet by 
Mr. Eben B. Phillips. This vessel, built a few years be- 
fore at Duxbury, had distinguished herself by outsailing the 
Boston pilot boats, and as speed was a great desideratum 
in the fishing trade, vessels of her general build were 
destined to displace both pinkies and square sterners. As 
to the "Jane's" own exploits. Postmaster D. P. Stimpson 
of Swampscott, who was for several years her master, 
relates that she once sustained a creditable contest with the 
first large pleasure yacht owned in Boston, Mr. W. P. 
Winchester's " Northern Light. " Coming in to Boston 
fully loaded with fish the "Jane " was overtaken off 
Mino'c's Ledge by the " Northern Light," and the skipper 
supposed of course the yacht would go by him. Finding, 
however, that his vessel was doing so well, he made her 
do a little better, and the yachtsman doing his very best 
and indignant that a fisherman should lead him such a 
race, was yet unable to pass until they had reached the 
Castle, a course of some fifteen miles. For the first half 
hour the crew of the "Jane " had been busy on deck 



SWAMPSCOTT. 22y 

cleaning their fish, making it an additional wonder that she 
had stood the yacht such a contest. The conservative old 
skippers, in their heavy going crafts, said at first that the 
"Jane" would do well enough in fine weather; but that 
such a boat would never stand the storms and rough seas 
which fishermen have to encounter. On the very first oc- 
casion, when she and what was allowed to be the crack 
old-timer, were caught out together in a gale, the "Jane" 
gathered up and went into port and was all unloaded be- 
fore her rival came in sight. From that time onward there 
was no question as to her abilities. As to her shape, no 
other craft was ever exactly like her; but the model, which 
she was the means of introducing into the fleet, and which 
now obtains in all Scampscott vessels, was that of the 
sharp, graceful clipper. Constructed upon this clipper 
model, some of the present fleet have attained to great 
speed, and might take no mean place beside our famous 
ocean racers. The " Paul and Essie," for example, built 
in 1882, has been mistaken for a yacht, and complimented 
as such, for her beauty and speed. In her one might 
easily and pleasantly make a voyage around the world. 
As this is a typical Swampscott boat, a brief description of 
her may be given. She has one deck and two masts, is 
78 feet long, 20 feet in breadth and 7^ feet deep, her 
total custom house measurement being 66 88-100 tons (old 
measurement 90 tons), 6 38-100 tons of this capacity being 
in enclosures upon deck, so as to give facility for handling 
a large catch of fish at one haul. She carries a mainsail, 
foresail, staysail, gaff-topsail jib, flying-jib, and balloon-jib; 
and if she does not " walk the water like a thincr of life," 
she yet, like all her companions of the fleet, can make a 
quick run to market. 

Methods of fishing have also changed, as well as the 
style of vessels. The fish taken are chiefly cod and had- 
dock, for ground fish, and mackerel. Until 1857, ground 
fish were caught by hand lines, each fisherman handling 



S2S GLEAX/XGS FROM THE SEA. 

two or three of them, with one hook on each. From that 
date began the practice or trawling, or fishing with hun- 
dreds or even thousands of short lines (about two feet 
long) and hooks suspended (about six feet apart) from a 
long trawl line. These trawls are "set" — extended in 
place upon the fishing ground with anchors at both ends — 
bv men who ffo off from the vessels in dories. To 
*' haul," a long and heavv trawl is perhaps the hardest 
work a fisherman has to do. Since 1855 mackerel have 
been taken in large seines measuring from 100 to 200x20 
fathoms. All mackerel vessels carry a seine boat, in con- 
struction a large size, lap-streak whale boat. When a 
school of mackerel is sighted by the look out, this boat at 
once puts off and lowers its long seine entirely around the 
school, and then with a pursing string the bottom is closed, 
and, if the work has been successful the game is secure. 
Unless the vessel has been able meantime to sail alongside, 
the seine is then towed to her, and the fish are bailed out 
bv dip nets. When convenient to run to market the mack- 
erel are iced and carried in fresh: otherwise they are 
salted. 

In former vears, Swampscott was itself the best market; 
indeed, prior to 1840. was almost the only extensive mar- 
ket along the coast, teams coming hither from aU the up- 
per countrv for their fish supply. -It was nothing 
unusual," says Mr. Thompson's book, "to see from fift}- 
to one hundred vehicles at the beach at a time, some of 
them from Canada and drawn by four horses, which came 
to town from Boston after their proprietors had purchased 
merchandise and loaded in that city. Such teams would be 
put up here, and in the early morning would be started on 
the home trip." Even within a decade, many fish were 
brought in and sold in Swampscott and carried up to Bos- 
ton in wagons: but latterly, it has proved better to carry 
the fares directly to the Boston market. 

Reform has been made in the clothing of the fishermen. 



SWAMPSCOTT. 22g 

Their oil suits, enveloping them from head to foot, have 
been worn now for more than half a century, having been 
substituted for the old cumbersome and expensive suits of 
leather about the vear 1828. The making of this oil 
clothing is the onlv manufacturing industry of Swampscott, 
save the building of boats. Not a few of the latter are 
built here for other waters, the builders having earned a 
high reputation. 

A not unimportant feature of Swampscott hshing, indeed 
the feature which has given to tishermen from this port 
their exceptionally high rank, has been the liberal "lay," 
or contract between the owners of the vessels and the men 
emploved. This is such as to give a much larger propor- 
tion of the profits to the tishermen than is the case with 
Cape Ann or Boston vessels. For example, the settlement 
on a fare of fish at Boston would be as follows : First of 
all, before anv bills are paid for food, cook, etc., the vessel 
draws one- fourth part of the gross receipts for a cargo. 
Then from the remainder the bills are deducted, and the 
balance is divided among the men. Whereas, upon the 
Swampscott lay. the bills are tirst paid, then the vessel 
draws a tifth and the balance is shared bv the crew. 
Thus on a fare of $300.00 when the bills amounted to 
$100.00, according to the Swampscott lay, a crew of 
twelve men would receive $13.33 each, and the vessel 
S40.00: while on the Boston lay, the men would get onlv 
$10.41 each, and the vessel would draw S75.00. 

Though this fishing business has passed its palmiest 
days, it still is a flourishing industry and mav vet assume 
its old proportions, though the fish are never likelv to be 
marketed here again. All told there have been 132 reg- 
istered Swampscott vessels engaged in fishing, and their 
contributions to the wealth of the state has not been in- 
sigfnificant. 

To those who are now inclined to this kind of sport, no 
pleasanter vacation trip could be suggested than to arrange 



2SO 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



with an intelligent and companionable Swampscott skip- 
per — and most of them are of that kind — to take a week 
or ten days with him upon the waters of Massachusetts 
Bay. Or, perhaps, he will go outside of Cape Cod, or 
down the coast of Maine. What with the chances of 
falling in with some fine looking yacht and perhaps beating 
her at sailing; or of sighting a school of mackerel at the 
same moment with some other vessel and then seeing a 
lively contest as to which should first cast a seine around 
them; or of getting a good fare and then scampering with 
all sail for market, beating or getting beaten by the rival 
boat, the amateur, if a true fisherman, would find himself 
quite in his element. 




SUPPLYING THE MARKET. 



SHORE fishing for the Boston market has greatly 
changed since fifty 3^ears ago, when and since, for a long 
time, the business was done, almost exclusively, at Com- 
mercial Wharf, where the boats landed and sold to 
customers — dealers and others — who chose to buy. The 
wholesale business was limited, and people residing at the 
north of Boston or in towns beyond, would visit the wharf 
on their return home, to procure fresh fish from the boats, 
that were sold very low. Quite a procession would at 
times be formed of fish purchasers carrying home their 
cod, haddock or mackerel, and a dinner or breakfast of 
fine fresh fish, was the best and cheapest meal that the 
domestic man could procure. The wharf was a favorite 
resort for many who visited it for the fun of it, to listen 
to the breezy altercations that often occured between the 
fishermen and their customers, and often the visitors would 
be tempted to become purchasers where a string of fine 
fat mackerel could be had for a mere "song of sixpence." 
Portly citizens, merchants, clerks, and housekeepers gener- 
ally, would embrace the occasion to supply their larders at 
home with the fresh-fish luxury, and go awa}'^ bending 
under the weight of large bunches of .delicate mackerel. 
This was continued until companies were formed to pur- 
chase of the fishermen at wholesale, hucksters increased, 



232 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

and retail fish-stores grew numerous, when the romance 
and fun departed. Apropos to the visitation alluded to, a 
friend tells me a funn}^ anecdote of one who would pass in 
these days as a dude, who was so nicely fastidious that he 
could hardly have been induced to carry a bundle, even 
though it should contain a silk dress for his wife. One 
day, happening upon the wharf, he entered into the spirit of 
the scene and naturally made a purchase! He enclosed it 
nicely in paper, tied it up carefully, and proceeded home- 
ward. Dropping in upon the one who told me the story, 
he held out his bundle, saying : " You can 't guess what I 
have in this." " Nothing easier," was the reply, entirely 
at random, " I should say you had three fresh mackerel 
there. " The man actually turned pale. " What," said he, 
"does it look like it?" He was assured that it did not, 
but, confessing to two mackerel in the bundle, he could 
not be assured that they had not betrayed themselves, and 
employed an office boy to carry them home. 

The vessels engaged in the old trade were principally 
"pink-stern" schooners — the origin of which name I never 
could learn — defined by Webster as having a very narrow 
stern, who supposes it to proceed from a " casual " mean- 
ing of an Italian word, signifying " a little eye or prepara- 
tion, " but the philologist must have had a strong imagina- 
tion to have so applied it to the Chebacco boat. These 
boats were from Kingston, Cohasset, Scituate, Duxbury, 
and a few from Plymouth and Provincetown, the South 
Shore preponderating over the North, though there were 
some from Gloucester and Marblehead. They were from 
25 to 75 tons burthen, each, the latter tonnage very rare. 
They always went home Saturdays, and left for the fishing- 
grounds Sunday night. This was the constant practice for 
a long time, the crews being principally town's people. 
They would come into Boston on the afternoon of each 
day, and, if they did not sell out, close the balance of 
their fare next morning, in season to leave for the fishing 



SUPPL7'ING THE MARKET. 233 

grounds. The business after a while extended from Com- 
mercial to Lewis and T wharves, the fleet constantly 
growing. Some of the fleet subsequently crowded upon 
the packet piers, others occupied City wharf and any- 
where that they could find an opening, and others even 
went to South Boston above the bridge, but the recognized 
headquarters were at Commercial street. None of the ves- 
sels paid for the wharf privileges that they enjoyed. 

The fish business was, for the greater part, peripatetic, 
peddlers, with handcarts, thronging the wharves, dealing 
directly with the fishermen, and carrying their merchandise 
from door to door. There were no wagons then employed 
for the purpose, and by daylight, in hundreds of localities, 
the huckster proclaimed the merits of his wares — "All 
alive ! Just out of the water ! " — - with lungs like a stentor. 
The handcarts were the rivals of the long-tailed trucks of 
those days, of which tens of thousands were owned in Bos- 
ton, for transportation. After a while both trucks and 
handcarts disappeared, superceded by the express wagon, 
and now the huckster yells from his wagon and sells his 
wares with an effrontery commensurate with his new-found 
importance. 

The business soon began to attract attention, and one or 
two agents established stores, acting intermediately betw^een 
the buyers and sellers, and the trade grew until it became 
the voluminous and thrifty system of to-day. The pink 
stern boats disappeared — -rarely now to be seen — suc- 
ceeded by substantial square-sterns of from 80 to 180 tons, 
the most substantial and costly vessels built. In summer 
they are able to carry from five to ten tons of ice, to 
stay away three or four days, and make a great saving in 
their passage to and from the city, thereby increasing their 
stock of fish. The agents, who own parts in these vessels, 
have increased to a host; so much so that they have 
leased T wharf for their special accommodation, and a 
more energetic set of merchants Boston does not possess. 



234 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The business has fallen off, on the South Shore, and is 
principally confined to Gloucester and Provincetown vessels, 
and the old-time crews of town's people have changed to 
include all nationalities. The " catch " is simply enormous. 
The old-fashioned way of taking fish was by hook and 
line; in the new way, by setting a line, with 300 to 500 
hooks attached, over night, to be hauled in the morning, 
and frequently a fish will be found on every hook. The 
hooks are baited with pogy or herring, that are obtained 
from down-east fishermen that do little besides catching 
these fish for bait. This bait is cut by hand and the 
trawls are coiled in tubs or baskets. The men are never 
idle. All either fish or cut bait, and, soon as free from 
any special toil, over go their lines to see what response 
may come from below. These vessels carry from twelve 
to twenty-five hands, and each being so heavily manned 
is a guarantee of their greater safety. The crews are 
a very hardy set, and, as a general thing, they are 
more orderly than those in the merchant service. One 
thing, they can't do anything with a drunkard, on a fish- 
ing voyage, and shun him. As regards the profits of 
the business, the middle man makes the greatest, as is 
usual in most of such cases, as the fish to the consumer 
costs him as much as lamb, if not more, and average 
higher every day in the year. The more there is sold the 
more is the return, and none of our dealers show any 
particular reasons for dissatisfaction. The distance to 
which the Boston fish trade extends is enormous. Our 
railroads transport its product to the far west and all in- 
termediate points, and fish from the water, to-day, packed 
in ice, to-morrow may be served for dinner in thousands of 
homes beyond the Hudson, or away up north hundreds of 
miles from sea-water. California and the western states 
are supplied by the railroads with fish, due to the ice for 
their sweetness, and New York city depends upon Boston 
market for a supply. 



SUPPLJ-ING THE MARKET. ^jj 

The fresh fish business has become one of Boston's 
largest interests, and it differs from that of the mackerel 
and salt fish trade as much as a Russian goods importer 
does from a West India sugar importer, having no 
relations with each other, beyond drawing their several 
products from the deep. 



A SHORE TOWN. 



A FRIEND has furnished me with a sketch of the little 
town of Sedgwick, in Hancock county, Maine, that ma}^ 
not be irrelevant to the readers of my book, which is discur- 
sive in its scope, and of which it may be said that "every- 
thing is fish" that comes within its net. 

" Sedgwick is on the Benjamin River, which stream is mostly formed by 
flowage of the tide, and is but a mere brook at half tide. It runs into the 
Eggarnoggin Reach, which is a sort of ocean river, running between the islands 
and main land. The town is twelve miles from Castine, east from Blue Hill, 
about twenty from Bar Harbor, and two from Deer Island. It is mainly hills 
and valleys, with not much level ground except on a ridge, that leads to Sar- 
gentville. Besides farming and fishing, there is little doing in the town. A 
great many eggs and berries, however, are sent from there. Blueberries are 
very abundant, together with raspberries and mountain cranberries. A daily 
mail and telegraph connect Sedgwick with the busy world. It has a doctor or 
two, but no lawyers, and two stores where can be had anything in the grocery 
line, boots and shoes, hats and caps, clothing and furniture, ship-furnishing 
goods and all kinds of rigging, indeed everything but rum. That is not to be 
had in town, and, as a consequence, there are no rows or rowdies there. Every- 
thing is peaceful and lovely. A steamboat touches there every day, in sum- 
mer, from Boston or Bangor. 

" I can 't say what the town is most celebrated for, but deem that for enter- 
prise and spirit the ladies bear the palm. Most of the church fund is raised by 
them, the public hall was built by their exertions, and the plank sidewalk owes 
its existence to them. The religion of the town, like most of the down-east 
towns, is Baptist — not the real old hard-shell sort, but of a more liberal kind. 

"The views about Sedgwick are very fine. That from Caterpillar Hill is 
grand beyond description. The Mt. Desert mountains on one side, the Cam- 
den Hills on the other, with Katahdin and Gold Mountain on the north, and 



A SHORE TOWN. 237 

many others, with numerous towns and villages and hundreds of islands and 
bays, form a picture never to be effaced from the memory. 

"The people are kind and very hospitable, and never tire in doing kindness. 
The hotel, which the town boasts, carries the idea of temperance so far that 
not even a cigar is to be had, although the natives of the place come, now and 
then, into the office to have a friendly smoke with the genial landlord and 
guests, and discuss the various topics of the day. The hotel is named the 
"Traveler's House," and it is well named, as it is more like a home than any 
other public resort anywhere. The commercial traveler, who gets within ten 
miles of here and does not come to this hotel to spend the night, must be a 
stranger in these parts. Old Mr. Lawson, who is three score and ten, is the 
hostler, and if a horse gets within the above-named distance, he will surely 
come, without being driven, to get the good care and generous feed of old Un- 
cle Lawson. At least, so says an old peddler who has been on the road for 
twentv-five years. 

"Sedgwick is celebrated for its old people. At a party in the fall of 1SS4, 
there were some fifteen or twenty of over seventy-five years. There are 
several in town who are eighty and ninety years old, and Mr. Philip Prevear 
was one hundred and fi-ce years old the 8th of December, 1884, having been born 
at Hampton Falls, N. H., December 8th, 1779. His second wife, still living, 
is over eighty. He is full of fun and as lively as people who are not ^et sixt^^ 
He voted for Blaine and Logan, and looks good for ten or twelve years yet. 

"The principal buildings in Sedgwick are the Church, Masonic Hall, Hotel 
and Custom House, which latter is a small wooden building, with the Post Office 
under the same roof. This latter would not give a stranger a very high opin- 
ion of Uncle Samuel's business there, but, since the renovating and remodel- 
ing which has just been done, one can now get into the office without climb- 
ing a pair of rickety stairs; for, strange to say, the building, which is only one 
story and a half high, was formerly a carpenter's shop, down stairs, with the post 
office and custom house above. There was only a part of the premises where 
one could stand up without bumping his head. 

"There are about thirty thousand bushels of clams dug in Sedgwick every 
winter and sold for bait." 

From the above description it may be judged that it is a 
very nice little place to visit, and fishermen and yachtsmen 
find it a convenient and desirable stopping place. Its near 
proximity to Bar Harbor, with the increasing importance of 
that watering place — soon, perhaps, to become a commer- 
cial depot in connection with steamers from Europe — must 
tend to its advantage, and the time may come when its 
custom house and post office will arrive at a two story 
distinction, and be a coveted place for some modern seeker 
after official emolument. 

30 



A RHYMED LETTER. 



THE following rhymed letter, received from my friend Mr. 
Shillaber, explains itself. Oppressed by a fit of the gout, 
to which he is subject, he writes, from his " auld chair's well 
worn leather," as cheerful a strain as though he were ac- 
tively on his pins: 

TO THE MASTER OF THE JENNIE B. 



Chelsea, Mass., May 2j, '85. 
Dear Smith, — though stern misfortune dour 
Hauds me enslavit by its power, 
Thanks be to pen an' ink, the hour 

Rins not so bad, 
When I can banish feelings sour 

Wi' jou, mj^ lad. 

An', stickit here my desk beside. 

My thoughts gang free an' far an' wide, 

Flowing out swiftly, like a tide, 

Wi' purpose true. 
An' swift as railway trains they glide, 

To crack wi' you. 

What pity ' t is, this simmer weather, 
That we twa couldna meet thegither. 
Beside my auld chair's well-worn leather. 

An', face to face, 
Gie interchange wi' ane anither 

O' talk's best grace. 



A RHYMED LETTER. 23^ 

An' how are ve, my worthy fren'? 
I hope ye 're hearty, but an' ben, 
An' that auld shoulder ache has taen 

Itself awa'. 
An' that the mind o'er pain agen 

Is sovereign law. 

I wish yovn- mind o' wheels an' cranks, 
So deft controlling mills an' banks. 
Could gar distemper show its flanks, • 

An' make it flee, 
As easily as Captain Frank's 

The Jennie B. 

Oh, wad the power that ae directs 
Gie ye release frae ail's effects 
That sae annoy ye an' sae vex 

Wi' bitter pang, 
I could forget my ain defects 

To see ye Strang. 

To-day a breath comes frae the Maine, 
And Capt. Frank has kindly taen 
Plis pen, in happiest refrain, 

To gie me cheer. 
But hands out promises, in vain, 

I mauna hear. 

He beckons me, in fishing line. 
The Jennie B's good crew to join. 
An' where auld Tanto's waters shine. 

Cast o'er my bait. 
To draw the beauties frae the brine 

That there await. 

Ah, glad wad I the beck obey. 
An' tak' my willing steps away 
Where codlings bide an' dogfish play ; 

An' what for no.'' 
The gout holds unremitting sway. 

An says " No go." 

But you, my fren, hae this in store. 
Anticipate, an' muckle more. 
Awaiting you on sea an' shore, 

An' may your joy 
Be unimpaired by ache or sore. 

Nor "dogs'' annoy. 



240 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

You scent the pleasure from afar, 
When July's incandescent star 
Shall drive you from the town awa', 

To seek the cool 
That's ne 'er denied or checked ava 

At Saco pool. 

There, out upon the bright blue sea, 
The win's an' waves cavorting free. 
The fair, half conscious Jennie B., 

Wi' bounding keel. 
The " Commodore," wi' rapturous glee 

Will new life feel. 

No monarch of the mighty deep 
Whose royals the empyrean sweep. 
Will feel more pride, as on will leap 

His bark o' grace. 
To where the festive codlings keep 

Their well known place. 

Or should a swordfish show his fin, 
Awa' he '11 drive the prize to win, 
Wi' Capt. Frank, so used, lang sin'. 

The dart to throw, 
He'll feel a pride that town nor "tin" 

Can e'er bestow. 

I '11 here reel up my ragged rhyme, 
Wi' hope that a' may happen " prime,'' 
An' gie ye fun an' joy sublime, 

The season through. 
An' every moment of the time 

Be quid to you. 



B. P. Shillaber. 



CAPE COD. 



AT the time of the May Flower's arrival at Cape Cod, 
and while stopping at what is now Provincetown Harbor, 
a number of those on board wished to make a settlement 
there, but, being overruled by the majority, they all pro- 
ceeded to Plymouth. Shortly after a number of the party 
favoring settlement at the Cape, returned thither and settled 
at Nauset, now Eastham, but the steriHty of the soil was 
such that they were forced to find some other occupation 
by which to obtain a livelihood. Fish of all kinds, the cod 
especially, abounded along the shores, and the colonists 
naturally took to fishing as a pursuit, and it has been the 
main branch of industry at the cape ever since. It was 
from the cape, in early days, that some of the fishermen 
went to the Island of Nantucket to teach the people there 
the art of whaling, who thrived so abundantly under their 
instruction, that Nantucket was at one time the largest port 
in the country, and had the largest fleet engaged in that 
business. Now, however, scarcely a vessel sails from that 
port. 

The exact date when Cape Cod vessels commenced their 
fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, it is hard to 
determine, but it was ver}- early in the i8th century. The 
vessels employed were not larger than some of our shore 
fishing boats, to-day, and would carry from four hundred 



242 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

to eight hundred quintals of cod-fish, according to their 
sizes. At the present time they have vessels engaged in 
the same business that carry four thousand quintals and 
upwards, Provincetown having a fleet of large vessels, sec- 
ond to none in the states, numbering some sixty sail in all. 
The mackerel fishery has passed through many changes. 
Every town on the cape once had its mackerel fleet 
upon the waters, but now the industry is confined to but 
a few towns, and the fleet sailing therefrom is very small. 
During the ^^ears between 1840 and 1850, Truro had some 
twenty sail of vessels engaged in the fishing interests and 
other maritime occupations, but by the closing of the har- 
bor, caused by shifting sands, not a vessel of any kind now 
leaves that port, and where there was once a large village, 
where ship-building was carried on to some extent, and all 
the different artizans plied their respective vocations, with 
flourishing stores to supply every article used, now the 
town has entirely disappeared, and the only structure there 
is the Old Colony railroad station and its out-buildings. It 
was from Truro, in 1848, that Capt. Rich, in the schooner 
Richard, made a mackerel trip, and took, with hook and 
line, on what is called the Middle Bank, situated between 
Cape Cod and Cape Ann, one hundred and seventy-five 
barrels in about five hours, the largest catch ever known 
to be taken with hook and line. During the years 1847 
and '48, — known as the "Chatham Years," on account 
of the vast shoals of mackerel being off that part of the 
cape, — it was no uncommon occurrence for vessels from 
Truro to get two trips per week, at Chatham, of from two 
hundred to three hundred barrels, and land them at Truro. 
With all the modern appliances of seines, etc., that season's 
catch has not been beaten. Truro has suffered largely in the 
loss of her seamen. In the memorable gale on the 2d and 
3d of October, 1841, forty of her seamen were lost, at one 
time, all in the prime of life, one only having arrived at 
the age of fifty years. There is a monument erected to 



CAPE COD. 243 

their memoiy by their fellow citizens, on which is inscribed 
the names and ages of those who were lost. 

Wellfleet is the only town on the cape that carries on 
the mackerel fisheries to any great extent, and the business 
has so decreased there, that at present there are but about 
twenty sail engaged in it, where, in prosperous times, there 
were nearh' one hundred. Other fishing interests of Cape 
Cod, like our merchant marine, are nearly ruined, and 
unless something is done to revive the business, our mari- 
time occupations will be entirely destroyed, and supplanted 
by others. 

Many incidents of the sea, along the Cape Cod shore, 
could be written that would seem marvellous, and the old 
adage that " truth is stranger than fiction " might be appli- 
cable in many cases. The schooner Bion, Capt. Isaac F. 
Mayo, belonging to Provincetown, was in Boston fitting for 
the Grand Banks. Having completed arrangements, the 
schooner started to return home. The wind was at north- 
east, the weather thick and rainy. After sailing what was 
judged a reasonable time, and expecting to see Long Point 
Light, a light was made off the port bow which was 
deemed the one wished for, and the vessel was steered to 
what was supposed to be Truro shore. Soundings were 
taken, and she was tacked about for Provincetown Harbor. 
When it was judged that she was off the wharves, the 
anchor was let go, and the crew turned in, as the night 
was dark and stormy, concluding not to go ashore. In the 
morning, upon going on deck, through the driving mists 
and rain, a strange land was discovered. The boat was 
lowered, and, upon going ashore, it was found to be Well- 
fleet, the southern part, know^n as Great Island, the Well- 
fleet light having been taken for Long Point. The vessel 
had been steered towards Chatham, then tacked and stood 
across Wellfleet Bay, coming out through a verv narrow 
passage, (known as James Harbor), not over one hundred 
yards wide, with a rock in the centre of the channel, the 



244 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

passage only available at the very top of high water and 
requiring a skillful local pilot to take a vessel through, and 
in that case never attempted by any one in the night. 
Thus this little vessel, by accident and luck, had come 
through, and anchored upon the outside in Cape Cod Bay, 
without any damage and unbeknown to the captain and 
crew, all expecting to find themselves in Provincetown 
Harbor in the morning. Captain Mayo and several of the 
crew are alive to-day to bear witness to the fact. 

Many narrow escapes from drowning, by Cape Cod men, 
could be narrated, but one of the most miraculous charac- 
ter will suffice. The schooner Frank Herbert, Captain T. 
L. Mayo, on the voyage from the West Indies to Boston, 
while running before a gale in the Gulf Stream, had two 
men washed overboard, by shipping a sea, as they were reef- 
ing the foresail. Their names were A^^dlath and Hawes. 
The vessel was immediately brought to the wind, but her 
boat was damaged so that she could not float, and would 
have hardly been available if she could, in such a heavy 
sea, and Captain Mayo made different tacks to keep as 
near the spot as possible, in hope of saving the men. He 
was determined not to leave the scene till daylight, or till 
all hope was exhausted, .though urged to do so by a pas- 
senger. He would not abandon the chance of saving his 
men. The night was very dark but the water shone with 
a strong phosphoresent light. About two o'clock in the 
morning, the vessel, then on the port tack, a streak of 
light in the water was seen approaching like that made by 
a large fish swimming. The passenger called the captain's 
attention to it, remarking that it was made by a shark, 
and it was no further use to look, longer for the men. 
While watching its progress, it gradually drew nearer the 
vessel, and, as it got to the main chain plates, a body rose 
out of the water and seized hold of the irons, when a rush 
was made to the side and Hawes was helped on board, 
after having been in the water three hours and forty min- 



CAPE COD. 24s 

utes. He was an extra good swimmer, had divested him- 
self of all his clothing, and only tried to keep himself afloat 
till he saw the vessel so near that he could reach her. He 
had her in view all the time and knew that Captain Mayo 
would not abandon them while there w^as any possibility of 
their rescue. The other kept up for about two hours, 
when he told his companion it was of no use to try longer, 
raised his hands above the water and sunk. Hawes said 
that his faith in Capt. Rich was better, in his peril, than a 
life-preserver. 

There are effective life-saving stations on Cape Cod, and 
during the fearful winter of 1885, every test was made of 
the humanity and manhood of their crews. These stations 
were established on the cape in 1873. ^^^ ^''^t upon the 
extreme end, comprehending in its scope Highland Light 
to the Race, another at what is called Peaked Hill Bars, 
the third at Highland. Since then another has been placed 
between, at what is called Highland Head, and the others 
have been moved to equalize the distance between the sta- 
tions, so the end of the cape has got all the protection 
possible. They are supplied with all the approved appara- 
tus, and the crews are composed of young men inured to 
the toil and hardship of sea-life and experienced boatmen. 
The captains of the stations are men of undoubted skill 
and energy. Together they present a tine body of men, 
ready to dare and do in the service of humanity. Every 
year the government makes additions to and improvements 
in the apparatus, comprehending improved boats, rafts, and 
mortars for throwing lines to wrecks, and it seems hardly 
possible that anything can be added to increase the facili- 
ties of the service. 

There are times w^hen, despite of all the skill and power 
that is available, lives will be lost. Such is the nature of 
our coast, where long sandy bars extend far out into the 
ocean, that vessels will strand out of the reach of the rocket 
or shot, and the sea is so heavy that it is impossible to 

31 



246 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

launch the boat. In such cases all that can be done is to 
watch the beach and rescue any of the crews that may 
come to the shore on debris of the wreck. One of the 
most notable instances of this kind was narrated to me by 
one of the life-saving service men who participated in the 
scene. On March ist, 1875, the Italian bark Giovanni, 
from Palermo for Boston, came ashore, during a very 
severe gale and snow-storm, and struck the Bars, two 
miles to the eastward of Peaked Hill station, at 1 130, p. m. 
Unfortunately it was low tide and the bark stopped on the 
Bars, nearly one quarter of a mile from shore. The crew 
of the station immediately started to their assistance. The 
weather for some time previous had been exceedingly cold 
and a heavy icewall was formed along the beach, in some 
places from twelve to fifteen feet high. It was impossible 
to get a boat along the shore, and the sea was so rough 
that it could not have been launched through the breakers 
had it been attempted. It was thought best to try to save 
the men by the use of the shot line and car. Accordingly 
the cart was loaded with as much of the apparatus as it 
would contain, and started for the scene of the wreck. 
After great effort the beach was reached, over the ice 
blocks, opposite the wreck, at 5 130, it having required four 
hours to overcome two miles of distance. The men, though 
greatly fatigued, went to the next station to procure other 
needed apparatus, assisted by some of the station's crew 
who were on the spot. A life-car was obtained and other 
gear, and with volunteer aid, over impracticable roads, all 
was ready at midnight, the crews having been incessantly 
at work. It was then so dark that the vessel could not be 
seen from the shore. A lire was kindled and a watch 
kept on the shore till da^-light. During the absence of the 
station-men, two of the bark's crew attempted to save 
themselves by coming ashore on a plank. One of them 
was washed off and drowned, the other clung to the plank 
and finally reached the shore only through the assistance of 



CAPE COD. 247 

one Bernard Jason, who, tying a line around his body, 
phmged into the boiling surf and brought him safely to 
land, when he was instantl}^ taken to the station and cared 
for. As soon as da34ight opened so that the bark could 
be seen, the mortar was loaded and fired, with hauling line 
attached, which failed. Three shots were fired in the 
attempt to get a line on board, the line breaking several 
times, when it was found that the wreck covild not be 
reached in that way. Upon the cessation of firing, the 
crew on the wreck, who had been sheltered under the top- 
gallant forecastle, came on deck, seeing that operations 
were suspended on shore, and, the vessel fast breaking up, 
they went up the fore rigging and out on the yards, from 
which thev jumped into the sea in hope of reaching the 
shore by swimming. The water was so cold that they 
chilled and sank. Some, howe;ver, kept on top of the 
waves for nearly half an hour, but a strong westw-ard tide 
prevailing, thev could not land and thus perished within the 
sound of the human voice. No aid could be rendered to 
them. The narrator of the incident said it was one of the 
most heart-rendering sights he ever witnessed. Upon the 
breaking up of the wreck, her cargo, masts, spars and 
sails strewed the beach for miles, affording a rich opportun- 
ity for wreckers to secure a large share for salvage. The 
bodies of the major part of the crew came to land and 
were buried in the cemetery at Provincetown. 

The Peaked Hill station did an immense work during 
the storm and cold of January, 1885, saving thirty-one 
lives from two crews stranded upon the beach. It was, 
truly, a noble record. The achievement was performed at 
great sacrifice to the station-men, whose hands and ears, in 
a number of cases, were frozen in the attempt at rescue, 
while they were encased in armors of thick ice that ren- 
dered action almost impossible. 

Besides those upon Cape Cod left at home to pursue 
fishing, and look after their cranberry bogs in the summer, 



248 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

many, prompted by their early love for the sea, go away 
to fill places in our merchant service, every one inspired by 
a laudable desire to become ship-masters, and for the most 
part they succeed. A glance through the shipping list will 
prove this — the Baxters, Crowells, Phinneys, Hallets, 
Thaxters and Riches revealing the place of their origin — 
and no better or more reliable ship-masters are to be found 
than those from Cape Cod. I have alluded to the cran- 
berry cultivation of the Cape, w^here, by a providential dis- 
pensation, the growth of this crop is made to supply what 
is lacking in the diminished fishing business. The decrease 
in the fishing return has been caused by its own redun- 
dance. Plenty of fish are caught — blue-fish and mackerel 
— as stated in the chapter on Fish Weirs, but there is no 
market for them with the vast competition along the north- 
ern shore, and the fishermen yield to fate. Schools of 
black-fish entering the bay, as they do quite often, afford 
rare sport as well as profit to the Cape Cod fishermen, 
who make lively times with their irons and bombs, and 
one good school will yield a profit far exceeding what is 
obtained in the best seasons of fishing. 

Cape Cod, itself, is a very interesting spot to visit, pre- 
senting as it does less changes from old custom than any 
place in the state. Isolated and apart from the rest, yet 
wdth a good railroad and telegraph connection, the mass of 
the people move on according to good old custom, and, 
although many fine dwellings have been built within a few 
years, by prosperous retiring sons of the Cape, the old 
building tastes are generally preserved, which is especially 
the case at Provincetown, where all the dwellings and 
stores are erected on one long street, wath their peaked 
ends, all alike, looking toward the harbor, presenting a 
very odd and foreign appearance. There are churches and 
schools and banks in the place, with Masonic and Odd 
Fellows lodges, and a cultivated society that renders its iso- 
lation bearable, and affords a fine summer resort 



FISH AND FISHING. 



All Essay delivered in yaiiuaiy, 1886, before the Fanners Cliil>, of Andover, 
Mass., by y. W. Smith. 



Mr. President and Gentlemen: — I rise, responsive to 
your wish, as the loaf said to the baker. There is an old 
Turkish cry, "In the name of the prophet. Jig's f' but 
here, in the name of the projii, I say, Jis/i.^ and everybody 
will accept the amendment. What I am to say about fish 
and fishing must necessarily be confined to generalities, as 
the subject is so vasl, that you would cry avast, before I 
could get half through. I can only hope that, by hook and 
by crook, I can invest the subject with interest to repay your 
attention. 

That horticulture and pisciculture have relationship, is 
argued by the fact, that the great Fisheries Exhibition held 
in London in 1883, was in the Gardens of the Royal Hor- 
ticultural Society, South Kensington — a strong presumptive 
proof of their affinity. The two sciences are also 5/^«^owed 
b}^ the practice in Maine of putting three kernels of corn 
and a herring in every hill, and also a closer intimacy in 
that tender union of the products of sea and land — minced 
fish and potatoes. I cannot, however, dwell on this, but 
spread my sails for the broad ocean of facts relating to my 



2JO GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

subject, and cast my nets for a fare that may be profita- 
ble to ni}' hearers. 

The fishing interests, all over the world, become more 
important every year, as demand for the products of the 
sea increases, and marine food, cheap and nutritious, affords 
wider scope for men and money in meeting the increased 
supply. Nearly as many, if not quite as many, are 
employed in fishing as in the mercantile marine service, — 
in our own, probably, far more; and assuming our own 
fisheries for comparison, we can imagine the vast aggre- 
gate of those engaged in the fishing interest throughout 
the globe. According to the United States census of 1880, 
the number engaged in the fisheries was 131,426, of which 
101,684 were fishermen, the balance shoremen. The fish- 
ing fleet consisted of 6,605 vessels, (with a tonnage of 208,- 
297 and a fraction), and 44,804 boats; the total capital 
invested $37,985,349, thus distributed: vessels $9,357,282; 
boats $2,465,393; minor apparatus and outfits $8,145,261, 
and other capital, including shore property, $17,987,413. 
These figures are not Jigiirative, however speculative they 
may be, and they have been increased since to far 
greater proportions. The fisheries of other countries, stim- 
ulated by demand of the dense populations bordering upon 
distant seas and bays, have doubtless increased in propor- 
tion as great at least as our own, and statistics would 
exhaust themselves, and human patience, in presenting the 
details. Common calculation would break its slate and run 
awa}' before the accumulation of figures representing the 
fishing interests of the world. Large as our business is, it 
is but a mole-hill in comparison with the mountainous 
whole. 

And 3^et, notwithstanding its vast importance, how little 
is known of sea fishing, or fresh water fishing indeed, 
beyond the stories of tourists and amateur fishermen, whose 
exploits tax our credulity and serve as themes for wit in 
the papers; — in one instance, where a sojourner by Lake 



F/SH AND FISHING. 251 

"Winnipiseogee caught a fish through a hole in the ice, 
which, the fisher said, he lifted up out of the water to his 
full height, and then could only see Us eyes, " What 
a whopper!" was the comment. "Do you doubt my 
word?" asked the fisher. "Oh, no," was the reply, "I 
only meant what a whopper of a fish." All that is known 
of either is that a need is supplied through their instrumen- 
tality. The purchaser who secures his bit of halibut, or 
the cod or haddock for his fry or chowder, does not think 
of the peril incurred to procure it, until he reads of some 
fierce gale on the "Banks" or elsewhere, where fishermen 
go down with their barks and are never heard from more, 
whose widows and orphans are thrown on the mercies of 
the world. Let us hope they may find them. The cold 
blasts of w^inter nor the heats of summer, the charms of 
home nor the pleasures of the shore, deter the fisherman, 
impelled b}'^ a destiny that binds him to a servitude 
unknow^n in other avocations. His foot is on the deck, 
and, come what may of peril, he braves the danger for the 
public good, expecting nothing beyond the pittance that his 
precarious toil may win. There is a vast deal to be 
thought of in a fisherman's career that commends him to 
our grateful consideration, and we should not forget it. 

Then the fishing business has few^ landmarks b}' which 
its course may be noted. Its field is the sea. No tall 
chimneys w^ith their black smoke trailing the sky, no lofty 
piles eloquent with whirring spindles, no palatial blocks 
filled with the merchandise of all nations, parade themselves 
for inspection as in other trades, but awa}' upon the waste 
of waters, with an ocean between him and his home, the 
fisherman's sinker plumbs the depths, where the rolling 
wa^'es toss him at their will; and thus he pursues his toil, 
the monotony of which would be appalling to a shoreman, 
reheved only at times when he does not catch an3'thing, 
and his empty kit is an aggravation. 

Published statistics and exhibitions — like that of London 



2^2 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

in 1883, patronised by the Prince of Wales, (a good name 
for a patron of fisheries, though a whale is not a fish) and 
the Duke of Edinburg, and Lord Granville, and the Lord 
knows who — are exciting interest, and people are wonder- 
ing why they never saw the fisherman's importance before. 
And yet he has been at the business a great while. Fish- 
hooks, of bone and of rough iron, are found among the rel- 
ics of the most distant ages, and it was a calling upon the 
Sea of Galilee, and of course the Mediterranean, two thou- 
sand years ago, and when the ones who were called by 
the Master were dispersed by his death, Peter said "I go 
a fishing." The Sea of old Galilee is full of history, tra- 
dition and fish. 

Almost all countries have legislated regarding the fisher- 
ies, from time immemorial, in fixing bounds and establishing 
treaties, the earliest recorded instance in Italy, 13 14, and 
from that down to the present day. In feudal times rivers 
and lakes were the province of the barons, and the law of 
protection lay in strong sinew and iron armor, and if foe- 
men dared catch fish in forbidden waters, they caught it at 
the hands of the barons aforesaid. Laws regulating the 
fisheries of Newfoundland and Labrador have existed since 
the discovery of their value by the English and French, 
excluding our occupancy, but our fishermen of past gener- 
ations did not regard restrictions much, but pushed their 
pinkies over the tabooed lines, or came so near it that 
they could reach over and take what they wanted from the 
other side. 

Many new fish are coming into our waters, though the 
cod still remains king. I am well acquainted with him 
through my own introduction to him at Biddeford Pool, 
and I call bn him every summer, sure of a very satisfac- 
tory reception. There are various kinds of cod, among 
which the "boneless cod" is very deceptive. He is a scaly 
fellow, and it is almost impossible to detect the difference 
between him and a cusk or hake. The cod in our Hall 



FISH AND FISHING. -s-jS 

of Representatives is one of the right species, and was 
placed there in order to aid in cod\iy\ng the laws. He 
swims the aerial tide, above taking a bait, though it has 
been intimated that " ground bait " distributed among the 
"schulls" below has succeeded in luring too many to the 
hook. The cod is known in all the cool waters of the 
world, and our yet unappreciated Alaska is prolific in this 
monarch of the deep. We find him in his corned condition 
a great traveller in warm climes, and he is greatly prized 
where the shadow of a man at noon is measured by the 
size of his sun umbrella on the ground, served up with 
plantain, ^ — ^the staple food of the Indies. 

The improvements in implements for taking fish are 
greatly adding to the progress of our fisheries. The modes 
of thirty years ago have mostly been discarded, the trawl 
and the improved net having succeeded, in a great degree, 
the slower method of hook and line in taking fish for the 
market; but such of former methods as have been 
employed in the past still hold their place, and amateurs 
and inshore fishers for ordinary domestic purposes are 
retained, the hook still resorted to. One improvement can 
scarcely be hoped for, and that is to repel dog-fish when 
fishing for cod. This fish is one of the greatest annoy- 
ances to fishermen, who justly call them the " mosquitoes of 
the sea," for they swarm in numbers, and are always ready 
to bite. I have found my own patience, though cherubic 
to a wonderful degree, reduced to a minimum by these 
pesky fish, and have actually enjoyed the use of the club 
for their immolation on the rail. They are of the shark 
family, and are miserable go-betweens, the contempt of the 
fish below and the fishers above them. 

The majestic halibut, the night-walking hake, the agile 
and graceful pollock, the seductive mackerel, the fierce and 
soldierh' sword-fish, the voracious blue -fish, the aldermanic 
salmon, and the modest haddock, have, besides the cod, a 
home in our waters, wdth many others, of which the had- 

32 



2S4 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

dock is most prolific and most approved by many for 
domestic purposes. Hucksters procure them from the boats 
when plenty, and cry them " All alive," to suburbans for 
five and ten cents apiece. They vie with the mackerel for 
cheapness, and for quality are often as doubtful as " No. i 
mackerel, ten cents a dozen." Lobsters — "long-tailed 
Crustacea," so-called by science, — form another branch of 
the fisheries, though, I am sorry to say, the lobster crop is 
diminishing, and I repeat the lines of Goldsmith: — 

."111 fares the land, to threat 'ning ills a prey, 
When lobsters threaten failure and decay." 

Law may try to save them, but laws are not self-sus- 
tained, and law-makers are too fond of lobster salad to be 
very rigorous in enforcing them, — making a compromise 
between the love of law and the love of salad, as delicate 
an operation as " splicing the main brace " at sea. A num- 
ber of states in our own country are passing laws for the 
protection of fish, and the U. S. Government is liberal in 
its appropriations to enable the excellent Fish Commis- 
sioner, Prof. Spencer F. Baird, to prosecute his piscatorial 
researches. 1 his Commission has reported that there are 
one thousand and five hundred different varieties of fish in 
American waters, salt and fresh, of which but one hundred 
and fifty are utilized as food. 

I shall say but little of fresh water fishing, although it is 
matter for warm congratulation that fish-culture in our 
streams and ponds is crowned with the best results, restor- 
ing to our inland waters the descendents of peoples that 
once inhabited them, with a possibility of causing a plenty 
as great as that of the olden time, when, in taking an 
apprentice, his indentures specified that the urchin should 
not be compelled to dine on salmon more than four days 
in a week. The salmon in our streams will be heartily 
welcomed to his old haunts, and that he may increase, in 
size and numbers, is our epicurean wish. When the Colum- 
bia River is fished out, and the last "lone fisherman" has 




•L:.. ;:^. 'V 



FISH AND FISIIIA'G. 255 

reeled in his line, then, perhaps, the Merrimac, restored to 
its pristine status, may make the world glad by its muniti- 
cent supply of the old-time luxury. Such, in a modified 
form, is the hope of enthusiasts, and any approximation to 
it will be regarded as a beneyf^V^ al dispensation. Efforts 
should be made by commissioners, by hybridizing, to pro- 
duce a boneless shad. 

Fish culture, in our own country, is in its infancy, and, 
like experiments in horticulture, devoted attention and needed 
time are required to bring it to perfection. The spirit is 
awakened, and the means are ready to make it a success, 
and the science of the soil and the science of the stream 
are identical in one particular, the production of the best, 
whether fruit or fish, for human benefit.^ One ploughs the 
land, the other ploughs the sea; one whips his cattle, the 
other whips the stream; one cultivates the acre., the other 
wields his rod\ one looks to his )ict profits, the other to 
the profit of his ncts\ — and land and sea cultivation have 
harrozuing experiences. But, while shore culture may be 
improved through science, fishing on the stern sea is 
unchanged, the same to-day as at the beginning, when the 
water was separated from the dry land by Almighty fiat. 
It is true, as I have said, that new means are constantly 
being devised for working this vast field, — new instruments, 
new boats, new seines; but the crops remain the same, 
yielding bountifully for the good of man, with no mildew, 
nor blight, nor season's difference to mar their quality. 

Gentlemen, — my limited time admits of no more exten- 
sion of this grand and vast subject, the importance of 
which must be admitted even from the little I have shown. 
Its scope is limited only by the bounds of the universe, 
and as it is said that the drum-tap of England is heard 
around the world, so the fisherman's conch shell or tin 
horn penetrates every fog from Newfoundland to earth's 
remotest shores, and returns again, bringing airs from every 
sea beneath the sun. 



A WINTER LETTER. 



I HAVE, in previous portions of the book, introduced a Sum- 
mer Letter from the same source as the following, and in- 
sert this as a balance to that, showing that friendship, in 
its wintry aspect, may be as genial, with icy air about 
it, as when invested with the atmosphere of summer. 



Chelsea, Feb. 4, 18S6. 

My Dear Friend Smith: — 

The hurtling air is cold without, 
And rattling at the water spout, 
It greets the ear with elfish shout 

And fearful din. 
And struggles with persistence stout 

To worry in. 

It struggles with each window pane, 
As if to dash them in 't were fain ; 
Half yielding to the forceful strain, 

The chattering frames 
Scarce their integrity maintain 

To thwart its aims. 

It dashes round the feathery snow, 
As if 't were out upon a "blow," 
Dimming the street lamps' honest glow 

With fierce assail, 
And making it a thing of woe 

To face the gale. 



A WINTER LETTER. 257 

Pedestrians called to meet the blast, 
With stamping footsteps hurry past, 
Their thoughts on home attaining cast, 

Which stays and cheers, 
Achieved with grateful heart, at last. 

And frozen ears. 

But I defy its fierce attack, 

With good coal fire behind my back ; 

I hear the stiffening branches crack 

On yonder tree, 
And make no groans, nor cry Alack! 

But smile with glee. 

My duplex burner squelches night. 
And by its bright and cheerful light, 
I sit in slippered ease to write. 

With whate'er pith, 
A letter, in the storm's despite. 

To my friend Smith. 

Dan Shakspeare wished a "pen of fire," 
But no such agent I require ; 
My pen is warm as my desire 

To please my friend; 
I don't wish higher to aspire 

Than this one end. 

Old Winter is progressing fast, 

With Candlemas some three days past. 

And all the signs of that forecast 

Were counted good; 
May't prove more gentle to the last 

Than this fierce mood. 

Bring forth the steeds! on with the sleigh! 
Let tinkling sleigh-bells glad the way, 
While the warm blood's harmonious play 

Keeps tune and time, 
And rosy health asserts its sway 

Above the rime. 

And you who revel in such scenes 
As winter brings, with handy means. 
Take in the gentle wife and weans, 

— A dainty load — 
Or some good friend who sleighward leans. 

And try the road. 



258 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Then give to mirth the guiding reins, 
Forget jour penalties and pains, 
Till shoulder ache no more distrains. 

And care is stilled. 
The crispy road, the whitened plains, 

With pleasure filled. 

Leave business toils that so annoy, 
And give the passing time to joy, 
That Nature's agencies employ, 

To quicken health. 
And you will gain from this, my boy, 

Far more than wealth. 

I connot sleigh, but I can slew 

A few rough rhymelets round to you, 

And tell you what you should pursue, 

Like many more 
Who preach but never practice do, 

Except to bore. 

As I sit here immured, alone. 

How much advice abroad I 've thrown. 

But rare accepted, I must own ; 

For man, not shrewd, 
Rejects such wise suggestions known 

For his best good. 

But you do not my counsel need. 
Behind that active-going steed, 
Where inclination prompts the deed, 

And all advice 
May follow at whatever speed. 

Upon the ice. 

I'm out of breath with cantering rhyme. 
And trenching rudely on your time, 
Waiting perhaps to hear the chime 

Of sleigh-bells sweet. 
That make our frozen wintry clime 

With bliss replete. 

B. P. Sim. LAMER. 



THE MENHADEN, OR PORGY. 



THE accompanying plate is an exact portrait of the men- 
haden, a fish abounding in our waters, and, which, through 
recent discovery, has assumed a distinguished position in 
our commerce. It belongs to the family of the shad and 
herring, but can give them points in regard to bone. Men- 
haden have never been popular as an article of food, but 
have long been recognized as food producers, of which 
toilers by the sea have availed themselves by employing 
them for manure, three to a hill of potatoes and corn. 
The rivers and creeks so swarm with them, in their sea- 
son, that they are a very easy prey, and crops of farm 
produce are not so sensitive to bone as human crops, and 
their digestion is easy. 

Science has determined that the chemical constitution of 
menhaden is similar to the phosphates of the south, the accu- 
mulation of ages, and that by chemical process the fish 
may be made immediately available for agricultural uses. To 
this end menhaden fishing has become momentous. Thou- 
sands of vessels are employed in their capture, millions of 
capital invested, and the amount taken of almost infinite 
magnitude. By actual statistics, in 1875, (and the number 
has greatly increased the past decade) there were employed 
in taking menhaden, 2,643 men and 343 vessels, (of which 
39 were steamers), and the anount of capital employed 



2bo GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

was $2,000,650. The number of menhaden taken was 
563,000,327, equal to 1,877,767 barrels. 

The ammonia of the fish is produced by grinding and 
compressing the bone and fibre, the oil separated for other 
uses, and phosphate of hme, likewise a result, that is con- 
verted into an agricultural appliance. 

Notwithstanding the vast numbers taken of the fish, there 
seems to be no diminution of the quantity. The water where 
they swarm is literally alive with them. At sea the schools 
extend for miles, and expert fishers, with their nets, draw 
in immense numbers. Yet, as large as the amount may be, 
there is not enough to meet the demand for the product 
made from them, which reveals in increased crops and lux- 
uriant grasses. 

Thus it will be seen that the menhaden takes rank over 
fishes of far weightier importance, individually, and becomes 
a power through his combined status. He is a handsome 
little fellow, as may be seen from his portrait, and of not 
much consequence as a single fish beyond his good looks, 
but, though not even fit for food, follow him logically on 
his mission and he will crop out in both food and clothing, 
seen in rich fields of wheat and corn for the former, and 
in cotton and wool for the latter. 

The menhaden, in his chemical form, becomes a mine, as 
rich as Golconda, to the country, and renders the product 
of decayed guano undesirable, with a resource as substitute 
inexhaustible in its supply when its capacity is evolved. 
So the agile Httle fish is to be respected and reckoned 
among the wealth of the land, more certain in its yield 
than more pretentious assets. 

In 1880, Professors Goode and At water published an ex- 
tensive history of the menhaden, including its habits and 
uses, extending through nearly six hundred pages, the latter 
devoting himself to its value as an agricultural application, 
and the various modes of preparation and adaptation, and I 
refer my readers to that work for all necessary description 



THE MENHADEN. 26 1 

and statistics, my space being too limited to admit of their 
introduction. There are many works engaged in the pro- 
duction of superphosphates from Menhaden, the largest of 
which are the Pacific Guano Company, located at Wood's 
Holl, Mass., on Vineyard Sound, and on Chisholm's Island, 
Charleston Harbor, the business headquarters of which are 
at Boston. The compan}-, originally, was formed for the 
importation of guano from an island purchased by them in 
the Pacific ocean, from whence its name. The imported 
guano having deteriorated somewhat in quantity and its 
commercial properties, the attention then awakened by Mad- 
dock & Goodale, regarding the Menhaden as a stimulant to 
cultivation of the soil, led to the present manufacture, which 
surpasses or equals the best guano imported. The fish is 
combined with the phosphatic rock of Chisholm island, and 
formed of fossilized matter descending from infinite ages, and 
the result is an article of immense agricultural value. The 
Holl manufactory is ver}^ extensive, superior to anything of 
the kind in the country. 

The superphosphates are made from the "scrap" of the 
tish after it has been tried out for its oil, which is procured 
from the manufacturers of the article and shipped to the works 
at Wood's Holl. The above describes but part of the pro- 
cess, sulphuric acid, kainite, incidentally, and sometimes com- 
mon salt, also entering into their composition. There is 
none of the guano imported now that formerly w^as com- 
bined in it, but the South Carolina phosphatic rocks are 
deemed equally as good without it. The works for mak- 
ing the superphosphates, including those for preparing the 
acids — covering acres of ground — are ver}^ extensive, pre- 
senting an imposing appearance from the sound. These 
works are situated about half a mile north-west of the vil- 
lage of Falmouth, and as the spot was eligible for a water- 
ing place fashion protested against their being placed there, 
but the town deemed that a good tax bill was better than 
the uncertainty of summer visitation, so the plant was made 



2b2 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

to the mutual content of the company and the town, and 
there it will remain. The works at Charleston are about 
two-thirds as large as those at Wood's Holl, and consume 
about the same relative quantity of "scrap," amounting at 
both works to from ten thousand to twelve thousand tons 
yearly. The company own Swan Island, in the Caribbean 
sea, and Chisholm's Island, its phosphates coming from the 
former during the "family disturbance." The entire surface 
of Chisholm's is composed of this phosphate, a very rich 
deposit, though surpassed by that from Havana, between 
Cuba and San Domingo, from which source, likewise, the 
company receives its supply. 

Dog fish and sharks are utilized at some works for the 
same purpose as the Menhaden, but the farmers will find it 
out through diminishing crops, though the fishermen would 
hold up both hands for the extermination of the "dogs," the 
pests of the sea. Sharks are more endurable than the imps 
that are inimical to both fisher and fish — preventing the 
former from reaching his prey, and the latter from the priv- 
ilege of preying, at his own risk. 



UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



ERNEST INGERSOL, IN HARPER S WEEKLY. 



THE work of Professor S. F. Baird, as United States 
Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, is popularly thought 
of mainly, as one of propagation and the restocking of 
vacant streams with fish, but at the beginning the Com- 
mission did not mean to undertake any such labor. The 
duties of the Commissioner were defined by the law of 
February 9, 1874, creating his office, to be an investiga- 
tion whether any and what diminution of food fishes of 
the coasts and lakes of the Union had taken place, and to 
inform Congress what ought to be done about it. 

For three years previously, in fact, Baird had been 
making such investigations privately, and his first official 
work was to examine into the condition of the fisheries and 
fishermen of New England. The wide knowledge thus 
obtained led to the despatch of himself and staff to Hali- 
fax, in 1877, to serve as witnesses and experts during the 
examinations which resulted in the existing treaty between 
Canada and the Uuited States in regard to fishing. 

Only a short time had elapsed, however, after the 
appointment of the Commissioner, before a proposition was 
made by the American Fish-Cultural Society, which 
resulted in an appropriation by Congress, and instructions 



2b4 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

requiring Baird to begin the introduction and propagation 
of useful fishes throughout the country. The inland streams 
and the Great Lakes received the earliest attention in this 
direction, carp, trout, salmon, and white-fish being raised in 
government hatcheries and distributed. Such hatcheries 
now exist in all parts of the country, and the most benefi- 
cial results have followed in the restocking of depleted 
waters. Parallel with this, and necessary to its success, 
went constant study into the characteristics and habits of 
the fresh-water fishes, the earlier reports teeming with this 
kind of information. 

Professor Baird had been a student of fishes for many 
years, and for ten years anterior to his appointment as 
Commissioner had spent each summer in scientific study on 
the Northern coast. He well knew, therefore, the bulk 
and value of the sea fisheries of New England, and had 
been watchful of their decrease in some directions. To 
these the Commission, therefore, turned early and earnest 
attention. At Gloucester and other lishing ports, statistics 
and information were gathered at all seasons. In addition, 
the Commission each summer established itself at some 
shore station, and by spade, net and dredge, dissecting 
knife, microscope and experiment, made itself thoroughly 
acquainted with the whole life of the ocean adjacent to the 
shores, seeking to discover the breeding, migratory, or feed- 
ing habits, the subsistence, enemies, or associates, and the 
influences generally which affected the presence or absence, 
plenty or paucity, of all the cetaceans, fishes, mollusks, and 
crustaceans useful to us. An enormous quantity of speci- 
mens of marine life were gathered — hundreds of novel 
forms every year. These were all properly preserved for 
the National Museum, while any duplicates obtained were 
distributed to prominent institutions of learning throughout 
the country, thus bringing to the assistance of teachers and 
learners everywhere (and especially in the interior) speci- 
mens of many classes of animal life wholly inaccessible to 



UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 265 

the ordinary collector. Probably half a million specimens 
have thus' been sent out by the National Museum — a fact 
not generally known. 

At each summer station a temporary laboratory would 
be fitted up, where the staff of naturalists and experiment- 
ers could work. This staff includes not only those few in 
pay of the Commission, but many volunteers — special stu- 
dents or teachers in colleges — who were glad to contrib- 
ute their help in order to get sight of the pelagic zoology 
and profit by it. This volunteer contingent increases from 
year to year, to the advantage of the government work, as 
well as to those who embrace the opportunities offered by 
the operations of the Commission; and as the latter are 
principally teachers, the good they get is passed on to 
their classes in better and better instruction. This is 
another important educational influence exerted by this 
bureau. 

A third flows from the elaborate publications of the 
Commission. The Annual Reports since 187 1 number 
twelve illustrated volumes averaging 1000 pages each; 
since 1881 five illustrated volumes of Bulletins — publica- 
tions distributed at frequent intervals to persons specially 
interested, a signature at a time — each containing 500 
pages. There are other publications. In these pages is 
contained a vast quantity of exact scientific and thoroughly 
practical information, written by specialists or translated 
from investigators abroad, which forms the basis not only, 
but almost the entirety, of what is known in regard to the 
fisheries and deep-sea life of our Atlantic and inland waters. 

Dredging and net-towing were at first done by hand 
from row-boats or hired sail-boats. Then the Navy 
Department loaned a little steamer or two, and deeper 
water could be traversed. Finally the Commission got 
money to build or buy steamers of its own, of which it 
now has four. One of them (the Albatross) is a splendid 
sea-going vessel of a thousand tons, fitted with every mod- 



266 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

ern appliance for the dredging, sounding, and experimental 
fishing in the profoundest parts of any ocean. -Her work 
has been mainly in the Gulf Stream, and in the deep 
waters surrounding the Antilles, and has been highly suc- 
cessful. 

To do the oceanic work of the Commission, and take 
care of its steamers and property, it became necessary to 
fix upon a settled sea-shore station, and Wood's Holl, at 
the heel of Cape Cod, was chosen as the best point. The 
water there is of remarkable clearness and salinity- — quali- 
ties needful in hatching the delicate eggs of fishes like the 
cod, which is carried on there; it is comparatively warm, 
since the southerly currents are drifted in, while the arctic 
current is fended off by the Cape, and the sea fauna and 
flora are remarkably rich. in consequence. The abundance 
of aquatic life in Vineyard Sound is amazing. The excel- 
lence of the harbor and easy accessibility of the station are 
also advantages. 

Congress granted successive appropriations for preparing 
the harbor and constructing buildings. A rocky point was sur- 
rounded by a massive stone breakwater, which enclosed a 
basin something over an acre in area, and, at the same 
time formed a harbor of refuge, behind which storm- 
driven vessels could find a safe anchorage. The basin was 
subdivided into two parts, one of which formed a great 
cage for keeping large captive fishes whose spawn was 
wanted, or which it was desired to observe, and the other 
became a shelter for the small boats, and was occupied by 
lesser fish pens. Beside this basin were erected a large 
building intended as a residence and otfices for the staff 
(there were no suitable quarters and scant boarding accom- 
modations in the village), and a commodious laborator}^ and 
hatchery. Between the two stands an engine-house and 
water-tower, where the heating and gas-making apparatus 
is placed, the powerful pumps which hoist salt-water for 
the use of the aquaria (healthier and handsomer aquaria do 



UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 267 

not exist in the world), the hatching-boxes and fire-extin- 
guishing pipes, and the great machines that furnish distilled 
water for the use of the station and the steamers, and 
for the support of the fresh-water aquaria. Wharves sur- 
round a portion of the basin wall, and will ultimately be 
extended, so that the whole fleet of the Commission — 
including the new model fishing schooner, Grampus, of 
w^hich much is expected — might lie there at once if 
desired, while a huge shed contains coal enough for their 
ordinary supply. 

Though the station makes a pleasing appearance, and is 
as neat and tasteful as the people like to see their govern- 
mental quarters, nothing of effectiveness has been sacrificed 
for ornament; and it is amusing to hear Professor Baird 
recount the ingenuity he resorted to in order to accomplish 
certain desirable things cheaply enough. The expenditures 
of the Fish Commission since its organization have 
amounted to about $3,000,000, and no waste, much less 
any fraud, has been charged in regard to a dollar. It is 
doubtful whether even the " private business man," of 
whom one hears so much nowadays, could have set up 
this station for what it has cost the government (less than 
$75,000, all told, if I am not mistaken) ; and it is certain 
that no one could manage it more economically, and that 
no investment of an equal sum by the government is pro- 
ductive of greater or more wide-spread benefit. 



FISHERIES OF NORWAY. 



NORWAY has, from time immemorial, been celebrated 
for its fisheries, their product affording the largest propor- 
tion of the commerce of the countr}-, the cool waters of 
the sea forming a coveted home for cod and herring. The 
taste of the lower classes of Norwegians is for the water, 
and fishing is the chosen occupation. This, however, is di- 
vided with farming, as the fisherman aspires to own a small 
farm by the sea, on which to raise potatoes, rye, turnips, 
and barley; cutting hay enough to feed one horse, two 
cows and some dozen or so of sheep. It is a poor but 
independent life, and the farmer-fishermen are a hardy and 
healthy race. They do their farming during the four 
months between the spring and fall fishing seasons. Each 
farm, or lot, has upon it a small house and barn that are 
situated closely by the sea, for the convenience of change 
when the season demands. The children of these are 
taught very early to earn their own living, and many leave 
home at ten or twelve years, to literally paddle their own 
canoe. They start out, happy and brave, with little or no 
schooling, and become fishermen or farmers, or, fired by a 
higher ambition, leave for America. "Its population," — a 
friend writes me concerning Norway — "are cradled in their 
fisheries. They are the babe's joy and the old man's com- 
fort." While the boys are farmers or fishermen, the girls 



FISHERIES OF XOFIVA]'. zbg 

are provided with a school at wliich they are taught to 
spin, weave and make clothing. This school is situated at 
Sparsberg, but is not free, the pupil paying $5.14 for four 
months' instruction. At times of emergency women and 
girls lend a hand to cleaning and curing fish. 

The iishermen use nets mostly for their purpose, the cod 
and herring procured from different localities. The former 
is cured in the same manner as was employed b}^ the fore- 
fathers. The herring are salted in barrels and are sold at 
the average price of $2.75 per barrel. Stock-tish, which 
takes its name from the manner in which it is cured, is 
the cod dried to the consistency of wood, and is much 
used along the Mediterranean and in the tropics. Purchas- 
ers procure them from the fishermen, and prepare them for 
market by cutting off their heads and disemboweling them, 
after wliich they are tied together, in pairs, by the tail, and 
hung over a " stock," or spar, out in the sun and air, un- 
salted, and allowed to remain six weeks before they are 
taken down. They are as hard as wood. The fish are 
inspected before they are shipped. Stock-tish is an exclu- 
sive Norwegian commodit3^ 

Halibut are numerous on the North coast of Norway, 
from Christiansund to Hammerfest. Thev are causfht 
mostly with trawls. Halibut for the most part are shipped 
to England ; the balance salted in flitches. Some 3'ears, 
mackerel are plenty on the southern part of the Norwe- 
gian coast, but they are seldom caught north of Aalesund. 
From Aalesund to Bergen, and from Bergen to Lindesneer 
(the southernmost point, or cape, on the coast of Norwa}-), 
and thence up to Christianin fjorden, mackerel have been 
seen in large schools. Sometimes mackerel come along the 
shores and are caught with sweep-seines and nets, but 
most of them are caught by trawling. The wav this is 
done is to take a common-sized cod-line, from twelve to 
fifteen fathoms long, with a three-quarters-of-a-pound lead 
on the end, (attached to the lead three fathoms of fine 

3:( 



270 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. • 

gauging), and one hook. The small boats have from four 
to six of these lines attached to the stern, and, saiHng along 
at a speed of from two to five knots, the lines are almost 
on top of the water, when the mackerel, attracted by the 
moving bait, will seize it. The fishermen know nothino- 
about heaving a boat to, and throw bait to toll them along- 
side, and thus they are caught. The same practice v\'as 
pursued by New England fishermen years ago, and some 
are employing the same method off Block Island to-da3\ 
Mackerel off the coast of Norway differ in size as they do 
here, but the mackerel caught in American waters, during 
the months of August and September, are far superior in 
taste and qualit}' to those of Norway, but they appear to 
be the same kind of fish. Some of them are shipped to 
England; the remainder salted for other markets, at about 
ip5 per barrel. 

Purse seines are hardly known among the fishermen in 
Norway, but seven years ago Capt. C. Mason, of Glouces- 
ter, fitted up the schooner " Notice " with seines and boats 
and sailed for Norway. Whether he intended to fish there 
or not did not appear, but on arrival in Norway he sold 
out everything at a good price, and that was the first 
purse seine ever known there. 

The fishermen are a hard}^ and jolly class of people. 
Although they have to face dangers and hardships through 
the winds and storms of the treacherous winter months on 
the sea, when they get on shore they forget all the nar- 
row escapes that they have experienced while out in open 
boats many miles from land. They gather in their boat 
houses, play cards, tell stories, and fix their fishing gear for 
new encounters with the elements. There is more or less 
superstition among them, and it is their custom to mark 
almost everything — buckets, brooms, etc., — w- ith a cross, 
to repel evil spirits. They believe in mermaids, and 
occasionally reports are made that some one of them has 
been seen; but not one has been known to be caught. 



-I, 




FISHERIES OF XOFWA)'. 271 

There is a graver superstition regardinijf a flat tish, cover- 
ing acres of land, by the name of skagen. He is said to 
lie upon the bottom, and the flshermen anchor upon his 
back, the fish below feeding upon the monster. When 
fishing is begun, the skagen rises slowly from the bottom 
until he gets within a few fathoms of the surface. They 
then pull up killock and he slowh' sinks to his -former 
position. This has belief among very intelligent persons, 
and Prof. Berg, in his work, claims that he has seen the 
skagen, and that he looks more like a huid than a Jish, 
which is very likety if at all. 

For one thinfj the fishermen have reason to be ijfrateful: 
there are no dog-fish on the whole Norwegian coast. 

The fishermen, generallv, have great regard for the 
Lord's day, and the Sunday law is rigidly enforced, by the 
otiicers of the police boat, against those who violate it, a 
heavy fine being imposed for fishing on Sundav. Arbors, 
the beer gardens, dance houses, and other places of amuse- 
ment, do a better business on Sunday than on any of the 
other days of the week, and are supported by what is 
called a far better class than the fishermen. 

The habit of drinking is common in Norwa}", the people 
being as " dr}^ as a fish," whether of the fishing fraternity or 
not. Liquor is in almost every household, and if a 
stranger or familiar acquaintance happens in, the master of 
the house will treat him with the best he has, touching 
glasses and drinking to friendship and health. Christmas 
is a great time in Norway, lasting fourteen days. Girls 
and boys take their wine, which seems almost as free as 
water, but drunkenness is seldom seen. 

Fishermen use goat skin, instead of oil clothing, when 
fishing. The skin is put through a process of tanning and 
oiling, so that it is water proof, and is sewed together 
with strings that are cut from the same skin, or the edge 
of one similar. The toilers' wives make their husbands' 
clothinir. 



272 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The tishermen have the choice of going to sea on shares 
or wages, receiving in the latter case thirty-five cents per 
day, and furnish their own provisions. Masters' wages are 
$14 per month; sailors' $9. 

Fresh water fish are not plenty in Norway. The prin- 
cipal among these are the salmon, which are shipped to 
Engrland. 

Tonsberg, it is claimed, leads the world in seal fishing. 
A large fleet is fitted out every year from that town, 
which is owned mosth' by a rich merchant, named Floen, 
who has carried on the business for many years and got 
very wealthy. He holds great authority among the peo- 
ple of Tonsberg. He has the power to ship his men 
before the Navy can procure its crews. The sealing ves- 
sels are mostly barks and brigs. The men go on wages 
or shares as may be determined. Spitzbergen and Nova 
Zembla are the fishing grounds. The sealers are proud of 
their vocation, and it is pleasant to see a bod}^ of them off 
dut}', smoking their long pipes in an independent way, 
with luxuriant whiskers, and long caps made of wool, called 
tophiic, esteemed a very stylish article by that class of peo- 
ple. 

I have been indebted, for the foregoing information, to 
Capt. C. Johansen, of schooner Oscar and Hattie, of 
Swampscott, Mass., a Norwegian sailor, and Mr, Wm. 
Stowe, President of the Boston Net and Twine Compan}-, 
and express my profound acknowledgment of their kind- 
ness. 



Most of the vessels that go on Lofoden and Finmarken, 
during the cod-fishing season, return home, generall}-, dur- 
ing the month of July, in order to get ready for what they 
call Sildfiskery, (herring fishery). Fishermen as well as 
bu3'ers depend as largely on the herring as they do on the 



FISHERIES OF XOinrAV. syj 

cod-fish season, and if the latter prove a failure, thev gen- 
erally make it up during the herring season. Almost everv 
^•ear large bodies of herring come on the coast of Nor- 
way, and sometimes they play off shore, in deep water, so 
thev cannot be caught by drag seines. Therefore gillnets 
are used and the fish are drifted for, some good trips being 
made in that way. Large schools of herring are driven in 
shore, at times, by whales, when the long and narrow bavs 
are filled with them. Fishermen, who are lookino- for a 
chance of that kind, stretch a seine across the coves, from 
point to point, and thus pen the herring inside, giving them 
room enough to play in, and they are thus kept for several 
days. Then a drag seine is employed to draw on shore 
all that can be conveniently dressed, the fishermen taking 
their own time, and out of one of these schools over 3000 
barrels have been dressed. If the herrine: do not come 
into these creeks, the fishermen club together, and, taking 
four boats, (the easiest one to row, called '-sh-ster-boat" for 
the leader), they go out in quest of the herring. The cap- 
tain stands in the bow with a pole 20 feet long, the size 
of a swordfish pole, called Lysterstanga. The boats are 
rowed swiftly, the captain pushing his pole in the water 
now and then, and, if the herring run against it, as mav be 
readily felt, he will know that the school is sufficientlv 
large, and throw his seine, thus often procuring immense 
quantities of the fish. Then the boats are loaded, the her- 
ring carried to vessels awaiting them, and there sold to the 
best advantao-e. 

The herring are large and fat, and the wav to dress 
them is, first, to cut a piece out of the throat of the fish, 
and take a small portion of the gill with it in order to 
make the fish bleed. Then the fish are laid down carefullv 
in the barrel, with the backs down, in a row, to be salted 
thorouo-hlv. 

As soon as vessels in the herring fisheries unload, thev 
are off again for another fare. The herring season is over 



i-j4 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

about Christmas time. The days are very short, then : 
only four hours long; while in June the sun is up the 
whole twenty-four hours on the northern coast of Norway. 
At Christmas the fishermen start for home, and, if they 
have had good luck, they make great preparations for 
Christmas festivities. The wives and children of the mar- 
ried ones meet them on their return, and escort them to 
their house, welcoming them to home and happiness; while 
the single ones do not leave their sweethearts much longer 
waiting, but get married as soon as possible, making a 
home for themselves. Hundreds of people are invited to 
the weddings thus celebrated, and everybody gives presents 
of some kind to the happy pair; generally money. The 
marriage celebration sometimes lasts three days and nights, 
devoted to eating, drinking, dancing, card-pla3nng, singing 
and courting for amusement. 

For two months during the winter scarcely any fishing 
is done. During this time the fisherman shoulders his gun 
and goes in search of game, of which there is plenty. The 
eider duck abounds in Norwa}^ but he is not permitted to 
shoot one under heavy penalt3\ Thousands of these birds 
flock together defying the fowler under their government 
protection. The fishermen repair and make their gillnets 
during the winter, their seines and other gear being made 
by state prison convicts. 

They live very simply, their houses being mostly made 
of logs, in which the old-fashioned fire place is retained. 
For fuel, wood and turf are used. Wooden shoes are 
worn to a great extent by both sexes. Boys and girls are 
free at eighteen years of age. Any good citizen can vote 
at an election, but he must have an income of $ioo to en- 
title him to the suffrage. 

The 17th of June is a great day in Norway, it being the 
anniversary of the separation from Sweden, and it forming 
a celebration as nearly like our 4th of July as possible, the 
occasion beinor similiar. 



FISHERIES OF NORWA7'. 275 

"LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN." 

Du Chaillu, in his " Land of the Midnight Sun," devotes 
a chapter to the fisheries of the Lofoden Islands that is 
intensely interesting, and comes so completely within the 
scope of this book that I cannot forbear making a few 
extracts from it. I confine myself chiefly to this chapter on 
the fisheries, though there comes, with reading, a strong 
temptation to give some of his descriptive passages of 
mountains and native customs. My space, however, does 
not admit of it. 

" The Lofoden are famed for their cod-fisheries, which 
begin in the latter part of Januar}' and last until the begin- 
ning of April. At that time the rocky and deserted islands 
become full of life: then bands of fishing craft come, and 
hundreds of small vessels are seen nestled among the 
islands. The codfish, in untold numbers, make their ap- 
pearance, whence no one knows, to spawn. They begin to 
arrive in January, and leave at the end of March or the 
beginning of April, migrating toward the North Cape and 
along the Finmarken Coast; they then disappear for the 
year. How wonderful is the migration of fish! Whither 
do they go? How will they know the time for returning 
to deposit their ova? The codfish are found in large num- 
bers along the coast; they occur in vast shoals onl}' from 
the Lofoden Islands east, northward along the Finmarken 
Coast." 

His destination was Henningsva^r, having arrived at 
which place, 

"Several sharp whistles warned the people of the fact. 
From the deck of the vessel no sign of habitation was 
seen, when suddenly boats emerged from behind the rocks, 
and speedily came alongside. I left the steamer and soon 
entered a natural canal formed of two islands, Hennings- 
vaer- and Nalrando, where an unexpected sight burst upon us: 
A fleet, hitherto unseen, was at anchor, and in large num- 



2-j6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

bers. Seventy-five sail had come here tliis year — sloops, 
schooners and cutters — with crews aggregating three hun- 
dred and twenty-eight men. Most of these vessels bought 
their fish directly from the fishermen; several had stores, 
and sold sugar, coffee, ship-bread, tobacco and many other 
things. There were six hundred and eighty-eight fishing 
boats, three hundred and fifty-one of which had come to 
fish with nets, the remainder with hook and line; the crews 
of all numbered three thousand, three hundred and thirty- 
seven men. Craft laden with fish, some almost to the 
water's edge, were going to and fro, stopping alongside of 
a vessel to make a bargain, puUing their loads on board, 
or making for the land. Immense quantities of cod were 
piled one upon another on the shore, men were busy open- 
ing and cleaning them, and tens of thousands of the fish 
were hanging upon poles to dry. Numerous log-houses 
were surrounded by barrels filled with cod livers, and every 
rock was covered with heads. Hundreds of boats lined the 
shore, crowdino- the narrow channel. Great numbers of 
eider ducks, as tame as those on farms, were swimming to 
and fro, seeming to know that no one would do them 
harm." 

Having been welcomed into the family of the richest man 
in Norland (worth $300,000 or $400,000) he proceeds 
with his description: 

" Henningsvasr is the largest fishing station on the Lofo- 
den Islands — there are years when over eight hundred 
boats go there to fish. The warehouse of m^- host was a 
sight worth seeing: long deep rows of freshl3'-salted cod- 
fish, six feet high, were packed together, to be afterwards 
laid on the rocks and dried. There are three different 
ways of curing the cod. The first, and the most common, 
is to cut the fish open, flatten, and salt it, putting it after- 
wards on the rocks to drv. The second is to open the 
fish, tie them two and two, without being salted, and hang 
them on frames. The third is to divide each in halves, 



FISHERIES OF jYORWAl'. 277 

connected only by the gills; the spine is then taken out, 
and the fish hung upon the frames. This method is much 
the quickest, as the air now operates directly on the ex- 
posed flesh of the fish, soon making it as hard as wood. 
It takes one or two months to dry the fish, according to 
the season." * * * " The settlement is built on both sides of 
the channel formed by the two islands. The houses of the 
fishermen are of logs, generally with a single large room, 
around the walls of which are bunks, as in the forecastle 
of a ship. These rooms could hold from twenty to twen- 
ty-five men, two or three sleeping in the same bunk; but, 
as there were no women to take care of the premises, the 
beds were far from invitinfj. The surroundincjs were worse. 
Each boat pa3^s one hundred and twenty codfish for lodg- 
ings during the season, and each house brings four hun- 
dred and eighty." 

" The Norwegian government exercises a paternal care 
over the men who form such an important part of its pop- 
ulation, and who contribute so much to the wealth and 
prosperity of the country. If it were not for the fisheries 
maay districts of that rocky coast would be uninhabited." 

But the fishermen have to submit to severe rerrulations. 
"Formerly no nets or lines were laid, nor any fishing 
permitted from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning. 
But a law has been passed allowing the fishermen to raise 
their nets till 7 o'clock Sunday morning. The maximum 
fine for fishing during the prohibited time is one thousand 
dollars." 

Naval vessels patrol the sea as police, and, by telegraph 
along the coast, the actual catch of all the towns is known. 
Thus the state secures all its dues. 

"The fleet of fishermen is classified in three cateirories: 
Litters, those who fish with lines and numerous hooks; 
Garni, those who fish with nets, and Dybsagn, those who 
fish with a single hook or line. The fishing grounds in 
Lofoden are divided into twenty-one districts; at each of 

3) 



2y8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

these all the boats have to start together, and all must 
return the same day, and about the same time, if possible. 
Every fishing district has its own letter, and each boat has 
a number; the name of every fisherman being registered, 
with his place of residence, birth, etc., so that in cases of 
disaster the crew of any missing craft can be identified. 
Formerly the men were obliged to remain during the whole 
season in the fishing district they had chosen; but now 
they can go from one district to another, though they must 
report at once before beginning to fish." * * * " Two kinds 
of boats are used; one is open, from thirty to thirty -five 
feet long and six and a half feet beam; the Finmarken 
boats are longer- — they have a house on the poop — being 
from thirty-five to forty feet and more in length and from 
seven to seven and a half feet beam; a pole several feet 
long is attached to the rudder, and held by the last rower, 
who steers as well as pulls, thus saving the labor of one 
man. Their cabins are about eight or nine feet long, 
affording protection at sea and sleeping accommodations, as 
the men do not return to land every day. There are also 
little craft used for transporting the fish from the shore to 
the vessels; these are not more than nine feet long by four 
wide." 

Determined to see everything, he says : 

"The morning after my arrival I was up at four o'clock 
to witness the start of the fishing fleet. I stood by the 
flagstaff on the highest point of the island. No one is 
allowed to leave before the flag is hoisted. The fishermen 
came one by one, and all were seated in their boats for 
some time before the signal was given. At five, precisely, 
the flag was hauled up by the lensmand, and the air was 
filled with a heavy booming sound from several thousand 
oars dipping into the water at the same time, and working 
with astonishing regularity, which continued for quite a 
while. As they moved away the boats began to scatter, 
and by the time they reached the fishing bank — about 




: Hi 1 
'*i J It i " i 



» 






i ,1 ,( ' , .|(f' ^. ; 

'M -'Pi'' 'i: 






I ^ 






FISHERIES OF NOR WAT. zyg 

seven or eight miles from Henningsvaer, covered with from 
sixty to one hundred fathoms of water — they were widely 
apart." * * * "At ten o'clock, one by one, the boats came 
back, and by noon the whole fleet was in, with an im- 
mense number of fish. Life had returned to Henningsveer. 
Boats moved to and fro, going from vessel to vessel, the 
fishermen trying to make the best bargains they could, and 
everybody was busy. On the decks were piled the fish 
just caught; these were cleaned on board, washed, salted, 
and laid in the hold one on top of another. These vessels 
would, after the fishing season, go home to solitary farms 
by the fjord, and their cargo would be dried on the rocks. 
The price of the fish varied somewhat every day, accord- 
ing to the catch; that day it was seven Norwegian dollars 
per hundred, without livers, eggs, and heads; it is some- 
times less. Great numbers of ducks and gulls were feeding 
upon the mass of offal thrown upon the water. On that 
day the catch was said to have reached nearly three 
hundred and fifty thousand codfish; I have been told that 
sometimes it goes as high as half a million a day. Many 
boats landed their loads along the shore, where men were 
busy preparing the fish. Those engaged in this work were 
dressed in large pantaloons, aprons, and cuffs of leather. 
One man cut off the heads; another took out the intes- 
tines and cast them on one side; others put the heads, the 
livers, and the eggs by themselves; the latter carefully put 
in barrels and salted — a barrel containing the ova of three 
hundred fish. These were sold for nine dollars. They are 
sent to France or Italy, where they are used for catching 
sardines. The livers were put in barrels by themselves, 
sold to the merchants, and kept till rotten, when cod liver 
oil is made from them. Two barrels of fat livers are said to 
yield a barrel of brown oil. The tongues were salted, and 
kept by the fishermen for their own use. The heads were 
scattered on the rocks to dry, to be used to feed the cattle, 
at home, or to be sold with the bones for fish manure, a 



28o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

manufactory of which is close at hand, on another island." 

M. Du Chaillu resolved to go fishing: 

"The lensmand kindly chose the craft in which I should 
go. When I came out a profound silence reigned over the 
fishermen's houses, and nothing was heard but the shrill 
cry of gulls; the boats were by the shore ready to start. 
The quietness of the scene soon changed; the men came, 
and within a short time all was activity. I was fortunate 
in my arrival here, for it was the first fine weather of the 
winter. The crew was composed of two strong elderh^ 
men, two younger, of about twenty, and one boy fourteen 
years of age, who was serving his apprenticeship. All 
eyes were watching the flagstaff. Suddenly the flag was 
hoisted, and thousands of oars struck the water. We 
pulled to get out of the channel, and, as the wind was 
favorable, the boats steadily approached their fishing 
grounds. The crew were guided entirely by the position 
of the surrounding mountains, and with great accuracy 
came to their lines. 

"Every fisherman has his distinct buoys, representing the 
different objects that they may need to recognize. We 
went to the first one — a pine roller about four feet long — 
to the centre of which was tied the thick fine which held 
the net. As the line was pulled in, two men stood by, 
each drawing one side of the net into the boat, which is 
the hardest work; two others behind placed the nets in 
good order; near the pullers there was a man who hooked 
the fish and threw them into the boat. There were some 
twenty nets tied together in fours, each net twenty fath- 
oms long, and two to three in depth. Eight minutes was 
passed in raising one set to the surface, and it required 
fifty minutes to hoist the whole number. The length of 
time in hauling depends, of course, on the number of fish 
caught, and on the weather.* Though some cod were taken 
they were not plentiful, partial migration to some other 
ground having taken place. We caught only a few more 



FISHERIES OF NOR WAT. 281 

than three hundred, the catch sometimes being more than 
double this, and heavily loading the boats. 

" A consultation was now held as to where to cast anew, 
and seeing others going toward a northerly point, our crew 
concluded to go also, and leave their nets there for the 
night. In what direction fish will migrate is only a matter 
for conjecture, and success during the season depends en- 
tirely upon striking the right places. The wind was ahead, 
and our destination was about ten miles distant. It was a 
hard pull, consuming five hours in reaching the ground. 
The boats were evidently too heavy or the crew to row, 
and they would take advantage of, or beat against, the 
wind. During this time the men inspect their nets, and 
four, with their drawing-lines, were replaced by new ones 
that had been brought. Then we began to sound. The 
first trial showed no bottom at one hundred and twenty 
fathoms, the length of the sounding line ; the ^second, a lit- 
tle farther on, gave one hundred fathoms. All along the 
nets at intervals there were glass balls, about four and one 
half inches in diameter, each securely enclosed, and attached 
by a cord three feet long. These were to keep the nets 
afloat, while stones at the bottom kept the lower part 
downward. We finished by casting the first buoy, one 
man throwing the net while another threw the float from 
the stern of the boat. When they reached the last of the 
nets it was let down, with a heavy stone attached, four 
buoys being arranged on the upper surface, there to re- 
main until the next day. At three o'clock we reached 
KenningsvEer, none of us having touched a mouthful of 
food since our start. The fortunate ones that day were 
those that had lines. The average of each of such boats 
was about three hundred fish. In the nets two salmon 
were caught, a not uncommon circumstance. I was invited 
to spend the remainder of the day with my new friends, 
three other boats' crews being in the same house. I 
accepted on the condition that I should partake of their 



282 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

regular fare. The dinner was composed of a sort of por- 
ridge, or pudding, made of ship-bread, liver and fish. I 
put on the best face I could, but cannot say I enjoyed the 
meal. 

"The next day I went hook-fishing, and consequently had 
to take another kind of boat, and go with another set of 
men. Each of these craft generally carries twenty-four 
lines. The captain with whom I went was Hans Mikel 
Nikolaisen, from Tennerold, in Ebestad, a place not far 
distant from Tromoso. He was a married man, with three 
children, and his eyes glowed with happiness when he 
talked to me of his wife and little ones. This boat was 
much smaller than the other one, the fishing by hook being 
much lighter work, and the whole crew consisted of two Sea 
Laplanders and three strong men. The Laps were easily 
recognized by their short reindeer costumes, with the hair 
inside, and Finland boots. The wind was good from the 
very start, and we rapidly passed the light-house on the 
island of Nellanddo. About a thousand boats were scat- 
tered within a few square miles, near Henningsvaer, for 
there were boats from other stations. After four hours we 
came to the place where our lines were and lowered sail. 
Several buoys were taken into the boat, and then began 
the hauling of the lines by the help of a little roller along- 
side. There were four lines attached to one another, each 
one being one hundred fatj^oms long. The hooks were 
four to six feet apart, generally one hundred and twenty 
on each line, and at intervals a buoy was attached to the 
line to prevent it from getting snarled, and sinking too 
deeply. The lines of all those who fished by hook con- 
tained on an average, per boat, about twenty-four hundred 
fathoms in all. An immense number of these lines are cast 
into the sea every day with the nets, occup3ang the waters 
for miles. We had not pulled in over two hundred fath- 
oms of our own when we found they had drifted into a 
net, and that some of our hooks had caught it — an awk- 



FISHERIES OF NORWA7'. 283 

ward yet common accident — but we were able to free the 
hooks without much trouble. We continued to haul in the 
fish, which were very abundant. Once again our line 
became entangled, this time with three or four belonging 
to other fishermen, and great care was necessary to sepa- 
rate them. The men know well their own lines, as, for 
greater certainty, each one is marked from place to place 
with the letter of the district and the number of the boat. 
The work was hard and tedious, for the tides and cur- 
rents had done considerable twisting for several different 
fishermen. After the lines had been separated they were 
thrown back into the water with the fish attached to them. 
The end of our third one came to the surface, and we saw 
that it had been cut with a knife, and the rest lost with 
all its fish, probably about seventy-five. Sometimes, when 
too badly mixed up, fines have to be cut and hauled into 
the boat; in that case the men bring them ashore, and 
give the fish found on them to the owner, who is always 
known by the marks on his tackle. We then went to the 
other buoys and hauled in another line, capturing in all 
three hundred and seventy-five large cod-fish. 

"After our fishing was over we went to several of the 
boats near us, and made inquiries about our lost line. In 
one or two cases, as we came alongside of the boats, my 
men looked suspiciously into them. Sometimes, when they 
find lines entangled in the nets, they draw everything on 
board, being obliged to do so to separate them, and return 
the fish. Some of the boats had parts of lines not belong- 
ing to them, which they intended to take ashore. When 
the fish are stolen the tackle is thrown away, but this very 
seldom happens. Evidently many of the crews mistrusted 
each other, and I was told that some fishermen would take 
fish that did not belong to them simply by way of retaHa- 
tion, thinking that others who had found their fines had 
done the same. Of course it is very difficult to prove a 
theft of this kind; but, when caught, the culprits are 



284 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

severely punished by the judges. We cast out again, our 
hooks being baited by young herrings cut in two. There 
was a general complaint this year of the scarcity and 
dearness of bait. There are men whose only business 
is to catch bait and sell it to the tishermen. My host had 
a small steamer employed for this purpose during the fish- 
ing season. When the fishing ground is near the line, fish- 
ermen return to the shore and go again, and so do also 
those with nets. 

" Another sail, two hours long from Henningsv^er, 
brought us to Slamsund. My object in coming to Slam- 

sund was to visit Herr M , a celebrated manufacturer 

of cod-liver oil, which enjoys such great and well-deserved 
reputation in the United States. The room where the oil 
is made was not very large, but everything was extremely 
clean. Several men were engaged in separating the good 
livers from the bad; all were fresh from fish caught that 
day. The fat and healthy livers were whitish, while the 
diseased ones were greenish, and the lean ones red. I was 
surprised to see the number of diseased and lean livers. 
The season for the best ones would soon be over, and it 
happens that the cod arrive at Lofoden when their livers 
are in the finest condition. The men were very particu- 
lar in selecting the choicest kinds. After they had been 
assorted they were put into a large tank, washed thoroughly 
in warm water, and then placed over an open wire net to 
let the water drip away. I noticed that extreme care was 
taken in all stages of the preparation of the oil. There 
were five large, high, rounded kettles or vessels, sur- 
rounded by steam at a pressure never exceeding five 
pounds. By this process the livers boil very slowly for 
eight hours, after which the oil is filtered twice through 
cotton, and put in large tin vessels tightly soldered. The 
product was clean and white, and appeared to me perfectly 
pure; but the process does not end here. The oil is 
shipped to Christiania, where it undergoes chemical treat- 



FISHERIES OF NORWA7'. 285 

merit which frees it from the microscopic globules of blood, 
and from stearine. It is then filtered through paper, and 
is ready for the market. Some sort of brown oil is made 
from most of the residue, and what is left after this is 
manufactured into a fertilizer, said to be very rich. The 
process has nothing of the repulsiveness of the methods by 
which brown oil is usuall}^ made, namely by letting the 
livers rot, skimming the oil, and afterwards boiling it. 

"There is a church at Henningsvaer, and, during the 
short fishing season, a resident clergyman. On Saturday 
no nets or Hues are put out, the law not allowing sufficient 
time in which to return to raise them on Sunday. Buy- 
ing and selling cease; the captains come ashore; the fish- 
ermen shave themselves and put on their best clothes; and 
all feel that a day of rest has come. 

" The fisherman's life is arduous. At dawn of day 
he goes out, and, when he has to row against a head 
wind, often comes back tired and weary. On their return, 
after the first meal, all are very busy outside; those who 
do not clean and prepare the fish, cut bait for the lines, 
replace the last tackle, and repair the nets. 

"I left the Lofoden on the thirteenth of April, bid- 
ding farewell to those who had been so kind to me. 
The deck of the vessel was literally packed with fisher- 
men, and their heavy wooden chests were piled every- 
where; so also were numerous nets and lines and cooking 
utensils. Everyone was good-natured — laughing, talking, 
and looking forward to the Finmarken fisheries. They 
were going to sleep wherever they could on deck, for 
hardly any of them had taken second-class tickets; they 
wanted to save their money, and were satisfied with third- 
class. In a few days the Lofoden would be entirely de- 
serted — boats and fishermen gone — and on the shores of 
many an island not one would be left to watch the sea." 

I quote Johnson's New Cyclopedia in summing up this 
chapter on Norway fisheries: "All the rivers teem with 

36 



286 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



salmon and salmon-trout; rich oyster beds are found all 
along the coasts; lobsters of the finest quality abound; the 
cod-fisheries in Lofoden give an annual return of 9000 tons 
of dried fish, besides 22,000 barrels of oil and 6,000 bar- 
rels of roe, and the herring fisheries along the southwest- 
ern coast yield annually between 500,000 and 600,000 tons 
of fish." 




AMERICAN FISH BUREAU. 



THE following statements from the annual report of the 
American Fish Bureau for 1887 are here presented. Dur- 
ing the past few years, for the first time in this country, 
anything like adequate figures and statements with regard 
to the fishing industry have been presented, and to the 
American Fish Bureau, an institution with headquarters at 
Gloucester, it is entirely owing that this state of things has 
taken place. Below are some of the statements referred to: 
THE FISHING INDUSTRY. 

" From the most reliable available statistics, we find the fishing industry 
of North America and Europe gives employment to between 600,000 and 
700,000 men and near 150,000 vessels, the total annual products being 
about 1,500,000 tons, 3,000,000,000 pounds of fish, equal to 150,000 carloads, 
and would load a railroad train 910 miles long. 

" A few of the leading nations that help make up these figures are as 
follows: The United States, with 101,684 fishermen and 6,605 vessels, not 
counting the small boats and unenrolled vessels of under five tons. Great 
Britain is reported with 120,000 fishermen, reporting on Jan. i, 1SS7: 

England, 57 ports, 4352 ves.sels. 

Isle of Man, 3 ports, 305 vessels. 

Scotland, - - - -.- - - - -21 ports, 4459 vessels. 
Ireland, --.------17 ports, 521 vessels. 

Total ------.-- 98 ports, 9637 vessels. 

"France employs 126,000 persons in the sea fisheries, the annual pro- 
ceeds valued at $16,660,000. Norway produces for export $11,900,000, and 
for home consumption $3,500,000 to $4,500,000 worth of fish. Italy produces 
$9,520,000, Russia $16,600,000 annually. Gerinany is reported as receiving 
annually $18,326,000 worth of fish, two-thirds of which were herring." 



288 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

THE NEW ENGLAND FISHERIES. 

" The history of the New England fisheries is one of peculiar interest. In 
its earliest days ahnost tlie sole industry of the colonies, the salary of the min- 
ister, the debt due the merchant, in fact, most of the obligations being settled 
for in the staple commodity, fish. 

" Probably few of the consumers, as well as many that from the agitation 
of the fisheries, take an interest in them, could locate, or have much of an idea 
where the bulk of the salt water fish that supply the nations are caught. 
They little think of the fisherman as sailing from home for weeks or months 
ere his return, as being from 150 to as far as 2400 miles from home before he 
enters his little dory, and there, often 100 miles or more from the nearest 
land, begins to take his cargo. Yet such is the fact. 

"In the early history of the fishing industry of New England, the business 
was carried on in small vessels or boats, that from the abundance of fish had 
no occasion to go far from shore. In those days the near shore fishing 
grounds along the New England coast were well supplied with all the desir- 
able varieties of salt water fish, and were of great value to the producer. The 
same, probably, might be said of the near shore fishing grounds of the British 
Provinces at that date. 

" As far back as 1818, the year of the treaty of London, very little attention 
was paid to the mackerel fishery, only 30,969 barrels being packed that year 
in Massachusetts, and for ten years— 1S09-1818 inclusive — the total pack was 
only 180,492 barrels. 

"In 1819, the mackerel fishery first makes much of a showing, the pack of 
Massachusetts being 100,111 barrels. Fluctuating, yet growing in importance 
up to 1831, in which year Massachusetts packed out 383,548 barrels, an 
amount that has never since been reached by this state in any one year. 

" As is well known, the mackerel is a migratory fish; while in one or a 
series of years it is found in immense quantities in one part of the North 
Atlantic ocean and its bays, another year, or series of years, it will be found 
hundreds of miles away. No part of the North American continent can 
justly lay claim to this fishery. 

"In those early days, and up to about 1870, the mackerel catch was made 
with hook and line, as these could be used near shore. Often a considerable 
part of the catch was made thus. Since the introduction into general use of 
the purse seine, in 1870, we find nearly all of the mackerel catch has been 
made on the fishing ground of no nation, but on the high seas, or more than 
three miles from shore. Of late years mackerel, in common with other vari- 
eties of fish that once were found plenty near shore, are now seldom found in 
abundance within three miles of land, and oftener wide out, or on the more 
distant fishing banks. The fact remains that, while the near shore fisheries of 
New England and the British provinces are to a small extent valuable to the 
fishermen adjacent to them, they are not to others, the amount of fish there 
caught, compared with the aggregate catch, being insignificant, the bulk of 
the catch being taken on the distant fishing banks of the high seas." 



AMERICAN FISH BUREAU. zSg 

THE FISHING GROUNDS. 

"The fishing grounds of tlie western Atlantic are the largest and most valua- 
ble in the world. They quickly attracted the attention of the early explorers 
who visited America, and who reported to their countrymen the extraordinary 
wealth of the western seas. It is a well established historical fact that the 
colonization of North America was largely due to the interest felt in the pos- 
session of the fishing groimds, and for ^heir possession or retention fierce wars 
were waged between the French and English for upward of two centuries; 
and Sabine holds the opinion that the disputes and contentions which origi- 
nated in the struggle for obtaining exclusive rights on the fishing banks by 
the English colonists led ultimately to the revolutionary war and tlie birth of 
a new nation. 

"The Biscayan fishermen have a tradition that Newfoundland was visited 
by their countrymen prior to the time of Columbus, but this storv is improba- 
ble. The French fishermen were, however, the pioneers in the cod-fisheries 
of the western Atlantic, and it is fairly certain that as early as 1504 the Nor- 
mans and Biscayans knew of the Newfoundland fisheries. Within 25 years 
of the discovery of America by Columbus the crews of fifty ships, Basque, 
Norman, Spanish and Portuguese, were plying their lines on the great banks 
of Newfoundland — more than 300 years ago. In 1577, the French had em- 
ployed not less than 150 vessels in the American fisheries, and w-e are told 
that ' the}' prosecuted the business with great vigor and success.' From that 
time to the present the fishing banks of the western Atlantic have been vis- 
ited by fleets of varying magnitude, and they have proved an unexampled 
storehouse of wealth in supph'ing innumerable millions with food. 

" These banks, of which we have so hastily and imperfectly sketched the 
early history, constitute a chain of submerged ocean plateaus elevated consid- 
erably above the surrounding sea bottom, and extending from Cape Cod to 
and including the Flemish Cap, of wliich they have an unquestioned right. 
Or, if we include the south shore of Nova Scotia off the eastern coast of New- 
foundland. While there are cod fishing grounds of some importance nearer 
the land, both off the coasts of the United States and the British provinces, 
these ocean banks generally are at considerable distance from the land, and 
therefore free from any national jurisdiction. They are the natural and 
favorite resort of the cod and halibut, and, as previously stated, constitute the 
richest and most unfailing resort for fishermen which is known to exist. 
LOCATIOx\ OF FISHING GROUNDS. 

" According to the United States fish commission, the area of the off-shore 
banks, exclusive of the fishing grounds off Greenland and Iceland, is 73,123 
square geographical miles, all of which, being on the high seas, are under the 
control of no nation, and free to all. 

" Capt. J. W. Collins of the United States fish commission, in an article 
lately published in the Centurj-, gives the area and location of the mackerel 
fishing grounds as follows: 

" ' According to a report on fishing grounds of North America, prepared bv 
the United States fish commission, the total area of the mackerel fishing 



2go GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

grounds off the eastern coast of the United vStates is 56,000 square geograph- 
ical miles. Here, in our own waters, the most extensive and valuable mack- 
ei-el fishery of the world is carried on. In addition to this, our fishermen 
have the right to fish in the waters of the gulf of St. Lawrence, outside the 
three-mile limit; and thus is opened to them an additional area of 15,200 
square miles, making a total of more than 70,000 square miles over which 
they have an unquestioned right to prosecute their operations. Now, if we 
estimate the inshore waters frequented by our fishermen in pursuit of mack- 
erel, we will be able to get an idea of their relative importance-, always sup- 
posing that the fishery can be prosecuted as well inshore as it can off, which is 
not the fact, as will be shown hereafter. The north shore of Prince Edward 
Island and Cape Breton are the localities in the inshore British waters which 
are now chiefly visited by American vessels in pursuit of mackerel. The 
total area of inshore waters in these regions commonly resorted to by Ameri- 
can fishermen does not much exceed 775 square miles (if we follow the coast 
line), or about i per cent, of the area of the mackerel fishing grounds to and 
Cape Breton, the east side of Cape Breton and what is known as the " West 
Shore" — from Point Escumenac to Point Miscou — in the Gulf of St. Law- 
rence, we shall have a total area of 2064 square miles. But a simple state- 
ment of the area of these inshore waters over which alone England has any 
control can convey little idea of their value. The mackerel fishery is now 
exclusively prosecuted with the great purse seine instead of by hook and line, 
which were formerly used. Therefore, the larger portion of this inshore area 
of water being too shallow and the bottom too rough to admit of the success- 
ful manipulation of the fishing apparatus, it is comparatively seldom that anv 
fish are caught near the land. On the southern coast of Nova Scotia few fish 
are taken by American vessels, and these only during their migratory period. 
Thus it will be seen that the available area inside the limit is exceedingly 
small. 

" 'Then, too, the change in the method of fishing has, in recent years, led to 
the almost practical abandonment of the mackerel fishery in the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence. Occasionally a considerable fleet enters the gulf; but since the 
results have generally been unsatisfactory there have been seasons when only 
a very few vessels went there. It is true, perhaps, that the mackerel being a 
remarkably erratic species, its movements cannot be predicted from year to 
year with any absolute certainty. 

" ' The results obtained in the past ten years, since the universal employ- 
ment of the purse seine, may serve, however, as a fair basis in judging of the 
future. It is an historical fact, now well established by the most accurate and 
careful investigation and inquiry, that the catch of mackerel in the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, not to speak of the inshore waters under British control, has been 
of comparative insignificance during the last decade. And even under the 
most favorable conditions, when the catch there has been exceptionally large, 
as in 1885, the total product of the Gulf mackerel fishery did not amount to 
more than 8 per cent, of the entire catch of the New England fleet. Of this, 
less than one-third was taken inside of the three-mile limit.'" 



AMERICAN FISH BUREAU. 2gi 

WEIRS AND TRAPS. 

" Yearly this branch of the fisheries grows in size, importance and value. 
In view of international complications, it is of especial service in furnishing 
plenty of bait to the New England fishermen. This they have been amply 
able to do during eight months of the past season that they have been 
worked. This fact should be borne in mind by the enemies of the weirs and 
traps, that annoy and threaten their business, if not their extermination, 
through legislative action. Weirs are put down in Narragansett bay as early 
as May, and fished up to the ist of November; 70 of them, located in Rhode 
Island, report their catch the past season as follows: 

18,000 barrels scup. 3iOoo barrels sea bass. 

2,500 barrels butter-fish. 200 barrels flat-fish. 

1,500 barrels tautog. 1,400 barrels mackerel. 

"At times the weirs were full of scfuid, often thousands of barrels that were 
turned loose for want of customers. 

" The weirs of Cape Cod, from their nearness to the fishing grounds as well 
as the home port, are chiefly resorted to by the fishermen. They are put 
down in April and taken up in December. The past season the catch of her- 
ring was not up to the average, but was large in squid from June 20 up to 
Sept. r. A large proportion of the catch of squid was turned loose from want 
of bu^'ers. Aside from bait, the weirs take more or less cod, pollock, floun- 
ders, blue-fish and mackerel ; the catch of the latter is usually from Mav 25 
to July 30, and from Oct. i to Dec. 10, with a less amount between those 
dates. Advices from along the coast as far as Southwest Harbor, Me., report 
an abundance of herring all the season. After furnishing the fishermen and 
packers, thousands of barrels were turned loose from want of buyers. 

" Connecticut has heretofore been neglected in the annual returns of the 
Nev? England fisheries. In past years it could make a large showing in 
the cod, mackerel, whale and seal fisheries. Of late j'ears the productions 
have been largely represented by the oyster and menhaden fisheries. New 
London has for many years been largely interested in the food fisheries, hav- 
ing in 1854, 124 sail in the cod fishery; in 18S6, 42 vessels in cod and other 
fisheries, two in mackerel, and six steamers in the menhaden fishery. Thirty- 
four sail of good sized vessels were engaged in the cod and halibut catch on 
George's banks and off Nantucket shoals, nearly all of them being welled 
smacks, taking their catch to the New York market alive; there it is trans- 
ferred to cars located in the docks at the fish markets, and sold to the pur- 
chaser fresh as he pleases, alive or dead. The catch of the New London fleet 
the past season aggregated as follows: 

1,086,010 pounds - - - Codfish. 

367,600 pounds -----..... Bluefish. 

59,600 pounds ---------- Swordfish. 

268,950 pounds ---.-..... Halibut. 

116,750 pounds Sea bass. 

12,100 pounds ..-..-.-. Flounders. 

700 pounds ----- : - . . Striped bass. 

12,500 pounds --.--.-.- Red snappers. 

17,750 pounds .---.----. Tautog. 

275 barrels - Mackerel. 



2g2 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

IMPORTANCE OF THE FISHERIES. 

"Probably no industry, with equal capital, gives employment to and sup- 
ports so many persons as the fisheries. The last official returns for the 
United States are as follows: Number of vessels, 6605; tonnage, 208,297.82; 
persons employed, 131,426; capital invested, $37,955,349- The New England 
states make the following report for the past year: Vessels engaged in all 
branches of the fisheries, including oyster and whaling, 1956; tonnage, 115,130, 
men employed, 17,996. 





Whale 


Cod 


Mackerel 




Year ending 


fisheries. 


fisheries 


fisheries. 


Total 


June 30. 


Tons. 


Tons. 




Tons. 


Tons. 


i860 


166,841 


136,653 




26, 1 1 1 


329,605 


'61 


145,734 


137,846 




54,795 


338,375 


'62 


117.714 


133,601 




80,596 


331,911 


'63 


99,228 


177,290 




51,019 


267,537 


'64 


95,145 


103,742 




55,499 


254,386 


'65* 


90,516 


65,185 




41,209 


196,910 


'661^ 


ioi;,i7o 


51,642 




46,589 


203,401 


'62 


52,384 
71,343 


44,567 




31,498 


1 28,449 


'68 




83,887 




155,230 


'69 


70,202 




62,704 




132,906 


'70 


67,954 




91,460 




159,414 


'71 


61,490 




92,865 




154,355 


'72 


51,608 




97,5-15 




149,155 


'73 


44,755 




109,519 




154,274 


'74 


39,108 




78,290 




117,398 


'75 


38,229 




80,207 




118,436 


'76 


39,116 




87,802 




126,918 


'77 


40,593 




91,085 




131,678 


'78 


39,700 




86,547 




126,247 


'79 


40,028 




79,885 




119,913 


'80 


38,408 




77,538 




115,946 


'&i 


38,551 




76,137 




114,688 


'82 


32,802 




77,863 




110,665 


'83 


32,414 




95,038 




127,452 


'84 


27,249 




82.940 




110,189 


'85 


25,184 




82,565 




107,749 



* The tonnage for 1865 and 1866 is partly by new measurement and partly 
by old. 

Note. — The mackerel licenses have not been issued separately since 1867, 
when a general fishing license was provided to replace cod and mackerel 
fisheries. 

THE WHALE FISHERIES. 

"The total number of vessels of all classes engaged in the business is 121, 
of which 19 hail from San Francisco, and all are engaged in right whaling. 
The decrease of tonnage during last year was 827 tons. The present tonnage 
of the entire fleet is 28,291, of which 6,500 tons are now in eastern ports, and 
over one-third is offered of this tonnage for sale. The North Pacific fleet 
comprised 38 vessels. The total catch yielded about 20,000 barrels of oil and 
309,000 pounds of whalebone. The Arctic fleet took 153 whales, as against 
222, in 1885. The season was an unprofitable one. Imports for 1886 were: 



AMERICAN FISH BUREAU. zgj 

Sperm oil, 23,312 barrels; whale oil, 27,249 barrels; whalebone, 352,590 
pounds. Exports were: Sperm oil, 3,iiS barrels; whale oil, 18,253 barrels; 
whalebone, 184,511 pounds. Stock in the United States Jan. i, 18S7: Sperm 
oil, i8,2io barrels; whale oil, 9,270 barrels; whalebone, 322,900 pounds. The 
average price of whale oil during the year was 33 cents; sperm oil, 74^ cents; 
whalebone, $2.73. These statistics are from the 43d annual review of the 
whale fishery of the United States, published bj the Whalemen's Shipping 
List of New Bedford." 

MENHADEN FISHERIES. 

" Several persons claim to be first in producing oil from this little fish, but 
the most reliable report sajs: 'About the year 1850, Mrs. John Bartlett of 
Blue Hill, Maine, while boiling some fish for her chickens, noticed a thin 
scum of oil upon the surface of the water. Some of this she bottled, and, 
when on a visit to Boston soon after, carried samples to Mr. E. B. Phillips, 
one of the leading oil merchants of that city, who encouraged her to bring 
more. The following year the Bartlett family industriously plied their gill 
nets and sent to market 13 barrels of oil, receiving $11 per barrel, or $143 for 
same. Mr. Phillips gave them encouragement, furnishing nets and large 
kettles, which were set up out of doors in brick frames for trying out the fish. 
Thinking that much oil was thrown away with the scrap, the idea of pressing 
the refuse was suggested. This was at first accomplished by pressing it in a 
common iron kettle, with a heavy cover and a long beam for a lever; after- 
ward, by placing it under the weights of heavy rocks, in barrels and tubs per- 
forated with auger holes.' 

" From such a beginning, and with varying fortune, has the business grown 
that now represents between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 of capital, emploj'ing 
nearly 100 steamers and thousands of men. The report for 1884 and 1885 is as 
follows: 

Number of factories in operation 
Men employed _ - . . 

Sailing vessels . . . . . 
Steamers ..... 

Fish caught ..... 

Gallons oil made ..... 
Tons dried scrap made 
Tons crude scrap made - 
Average yield oil per 1000 fish - 
Capital invested . . . . 

" The aggregate annual catch ranges from 1,750,000 to 2,250,000 barrels of 
fish. 

" Menhaden continue to draw the northern line of migration at Cape Cod, 
seldom being found north of there. The large importation from France and 
England, at a very low duty, of de-gras, which is said to be a much inferior 
substitute for oil, and nitrate of soda froin South America as a substitute for 
fish guano, is seriously injuring this valuable home industry. 



37 



IS85. 


1884. 


50 


52 


2,064 


2,114 


84 


157 


7S 


59 


479,214,415 


858,592,691 


2,346,319 


3,722,927 


33,914 


58,438 


7>^25 


10,430 


4Xgls- 


^% gls- 


$1,314,500 


$1,534,756 



OLD MONHEGAN. 



SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE OF BOSTON HERALD. 

MoNHEGAN Plantation, Me., Aug. 31, 1886. The 
topography of the coast of Maine is unique. You can sail 
into a new world every day, for the course of the indented 
shores covers 2500 miles, which a direct line would limit 
to less than 300. And the long reaches of white sand 
beaches, which gleam and glitter in the sunlight every- 
where in the United States, are almost never seen on the 
Maine coast, especially about the islands. Here we find 
great sloping shelves of rock worn smooth by centuries of 
surf irritation; craggy, broken ledges, caverned and 
seamed, and always sounding with rebutting rush the dirge 
of an eternal element; or huge bowlders and outlying 
rocks, rearing like guards against incoming waters. The 
islands scattered along the shores number hundreds. Old 
Monhegan stands sentinel over all, the first sighted as the 
coast is approached. It has been fittingly called the " Key- 
stone of New England." Many miles from the main, it 
looms from the dark ocean a mighty granite cliff, where 
the sea fogs pitch their tents and mists complete the isola- 
tion. You are as much upon the ocean as if upon a ship, 
barring the tossing. You can live here almost as exclu- 
sively as if upon another planet. The deep, compressing 
waters, heaving as from the beginning "since first the 



OLD MONHEGAN. sgs 

spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," with 
the glowing, tonic atmosphere and influence, exulting and 
saturating the sober senses, envelope the busy thoughts of 
cosmopolitan conflicts with the indefinite mood of a far dis- 
tant and troublesome dream. Here the sojourner finds 
nothing whatever resembling the typical summer resort. 
The novelty, strange leisure and sweet enjoyment at such a 
remote corner — though ambition would not long covet it — 
give the simple fact of living much of grateful content, and 
the restfulness is profound. We wake to the freshness ,of 
each sunny morn with the feeling that it is made for the 
first time. With the whole Atlantic murmuring in our 
ears, we fall asleep letting all sombre cares slip beneath 
the mighty waves and beyond the obscuring horizon. And 
we recognize the benediction of that eternal harmony as 
never remembered within the contrasting world of bricks. 
Where is Monhegan? Take a map of the Maine coast 
and look for the outermost island, and twenty miles southeast 
also of Pemiquid, the island is noted. From the beginning 
of New England history, and before the prilgrims had 
landed at Plymouth, the island had become a noted fishing 
station, and was the seat of the first fishery in Maine, and 
the home of fishermen. Capt. John Smith was the pioneer, 
and in his correspondence devoted many pages in discussing 
the methods by which the fisheries should be carried on. 
His vessel in 1614 took 47,000 fish. He was shrewd and 
valued his spoils. " And is it not pretty sport," he wrote, 
" to haul up twopence, sixpence and twelvepence, as fast as 
you can hale and veare a line? He is a bad fisher who 
cannot kill in one day with his hooke and line, 100, 200, 
or 300 cods." It was from Monhegan came the sachem 
Samoset to Plymouth, March 16, 162 1, with his welcome, 
having learned some broken English from the colonists at 
Pemiquid and Monhegan. And a year later, it was to 
Monhegan that Edward Winslow went for provisions, sure 
of succor, for his starving band of exiles. The fishermen 



zgt GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

would not sell, as their own supply was limited, but gave 
sufficient to relieve the sufferings at Plymouth. So it has 
always been the 

QUAINT AND PICTURESQUE HOME 

to all " they that go down to the sea in ships " and " that do 
business in great waters!" But its importance has been of 
trifling interest to those who live within the cities. Eight 
years ago Mrs. Albee began taking a few boarders — wan- 
dering artists* generally — but this year fifty or more have 
sought the extreme quiet and coolness, while excursions 
from the main coast have been frequent. The only route 
is, at Bath to board one of the Eastern Steamboat Com- 
pany's boats which connects the Kennebec with the islands 
and Boothbay. At Boothbay the mail boat, "Goldsmith 
Maid," Capt. Humphrey, leaves every Tuesday and Sat- 
urday noon, and, if the day be fair and the sea pleasant, 
a few hours' swift sailing will carry one to the desired 
haven. You may be seasick, but what of that? We start 
fairly, passing the summer resorts " Ocean Point " and 
"Squirrel Island" as we round out of the harbor, out be- 
yond Ram and Fisherman's islands, then crossing Lenni- 
ken's bay, running between its islands at the mouth. We 
sail on by the Damariscotta river and East Bristol, noting 
with our glass a new resort just opened at Inner Heron 
island — but rechristened Summer Christmas Isle — and 
thence by old Pemiquid — the site of ancient Jamestown 
and rival of Boston — with its old forts and lighthouse. 
Beyond Muscongus bay we veer out to seaward. On the 
eastern side of Pemiquid Point we note the little village of 
New Harbor (formerly old Popham fort,) which was 
discovered and settled by Champlain in 1604, with 100 
French Royalists. Under Des Monts, it became an elab- 
orate colonial French plantation, and held this part of 
America by right of France. In 1610 possession was 
transferred to Fort Popham, now Hunnewell's point, at the 
mouth of the Kennebec river. Northeast of old Popham 



OLD MONHEGAN. zgj 

and Pemiquid is Muscongus, or Loud's Island, where was 
Samoset's royal wigwam and burial place. At the north- 
ern extremity are many Indian graves, and at every turn 
of the sods their relics are unearthed. Our hostess, Mrs. 
Albee, tells us that her great great grandfather Loud, an 
Englishman, once possessed the' whole island, purchased 
from the Indians. They considered him a god, as he was 
of immense size and strength and his voice could be heard 
a long distance. He is buried on the island, which his 
sons inherited and afterward sold to many others. As our 
boat left the island and swept seaward, we curiously 
watched the approach to the huge mountain of dark rock 
lying on the ocean beyond, tacking at last into a little har- 
bor between another mountain of stone (Manan) and Mon- 
hegan. The harbor, long and narrow and ten fathoms deep, 
was filled with a hundred boats, dories, punks, yachts, 
sailboats and fishing schooners. A boat is the vehicle of 
the islanders. A pony was brought upon the island some 
3^ears ago, but he soon died of loneliness and laziness. A 
few cows are kept, many sheep, some poultry and one pair 
of oxen to truck the seine and luggage from the shore. 

Monhegan has a troubled history. It was discovered in 
1605 by Champlain and Sir George Weymouth. The first 
distinct mention of it is in Rosier's journal of Weymouth's 
voyage, wherein he says that the island was sighted May 
17: "because it blew a great gale of wind, the sea was 
very high, and near night, not fit to come upon an 
unknown coast, we stood off till two o'clock in the morn- 
ing, being Saturday." But the island they thought " the 
most fortunate ever yet discovered." Here they found the 
fish so plentiful and great, that " one of the mates, with 
two hooks at a lead, at five draughts together hauled up 
ten fishes, all were generally very great, some they meas- 
ured to be five feet long and three feet about." Cham- 
plain called the island "La Nef," to signify the appearance 
of a ship, but it has more the look of a black whale. 



2g8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Capt. Weymouth, on landing, named it " St. George " 
and set up a cross as the symbol of Christian possession. 
But the St. George title has drifted to the adjacent islands 
and river and La Nef is a forgotten name. In 1614 Capt. 
John Smith with two English ships took possession. Build- 
ing boats, he ranged the whole coast to Cape Cod making 
fresh discoveries and trading with the Sagamore chief 
Nahanada, who was reigning when Popham and Gilbert 
came in 1607. Capt. Smith prepared a map, to which he 
applied the name of New England, and presented it to 
Prince Charles. On Monhegan he made a garden, as he 
says, "upon the top of a Rockie He in 43^, 4 leagues 
from the main, in May, that grew so well, as it served us 
for sallets (salads) in June and July." The description of 
"Monhegan" (a corruption of the aboriginal Menahan, 
"an island,") is as accurate now as then, exhibiting "the 
remarkablest isles and mountains for landmarks," "a high 
round isle," with the "little Monas" by its side, "betwixt 
which is a small harbor, where their ship was anchored," 
says Smith. The first owner of Monhegan was an Eng- 
lish merchant, Abraham Jennings, who bought it of the 
Plymouth council in 1622. He sold it in 1626 to Messrs. 
Elbridge and Aldworth for £50. They also bought Pemi- 
quid, which they named " Bristol " after their English town, 
a title it still retains. 

The council granted the title on condition "that they 
have and will transport, at their own costs and charges, 
divers persons into New England, and there erect and 
build a town and settle inhabitants." Mr. Abraham Shurt, 
a Justice of the Peace at Pemiquid, made out the bill of 
exchange for Monhegan, the first transaction of the kind 
known in our commercial history. This Justice also wit- 
nessed the first deed of land given in America by an 
Indian to a white man, the deed given by Samoset and his 
brother sachem Unongoit, of the country around Pemiquid, 
July 25, 1625, to John Brown. Justice Shurt is thus pleas- 



OLD MONHEGAN. 2gg 

antly remembered by Bowditch in his novel volume of 
"Suffolk Surnames:" 

TO THE MEMORY OF 

A. SHURT, 

" THE FATHER OF AMERICAN CONVEYANCING," 

WHOSE NAME IS ASSOCIATED ALIKE WITH 
MY DAILY TOILET AND MY DAILY OCCUPATION. 

It was at Monhegan that the first sermon in English on 
this continent was preached Aug. 9, 1607, by Rev. Rich- 
ard Seymour. He was chaplain of the Popham colony 
that settled at the mouth of the Kennebec river. It was a 
thanksgiving service, when the crews of the vessels the 
Gift of God and the Mary and John, who had got sepa- 
rated, met at the island where they landed, "gyving God 
thanks for a happy metinge and saffe aryvall into the 
country." It was by the breaking out of King Phillip's 
war that the island was depopulated. The ruins of a few 
old cellars still remain, and the present settlers often exca- 
vate such relics as quaint Dutch spoons, pipes, firearms, 
iron kettles and other utensils which have lain for 200 
years. An old watch and spoon is deposited with the 
Maine Historical Society. Indian relics are abundant, yet 
not one colonist has a vital remembrance. At one neg- 
lected part of the island are a number of grave-like 
depressions, which are supposed to contain their bones. 
At another point are 

TRACES OF THEIR *SALT WORKS, 

for they made their own salt to cure fish. Two well 
known New York girls, who are here sketching, are 
to-day zealously digging over an old cellar, an occasional 
relic of iron, old bricks and cinders coming to the surface. 
In the earlier days of Monhegan it was the scene of a 
cruel massacre. While the men were away fishing, the 
Indians descended upon the place, murdering the women 
and children, pillaging and burning ev^erywhere. The burnt 
wood that is so often dug from the old cellars is regarded 



300 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

as remains of the dreadful pillage. (It is said that the 
Indian's exclamation, "Man-he-gone," when telling of the 
massacre, is the corruption of "Monhegan.") 

Previous to the revolution the island was repeopled. In 
1774 Mr. Trefethern of Portsmouth bought the land for 
$1000 of a Mr. Rogers. Then a Mr. Jennings put in a 
claim of $1000, which was paid, and in 1807 another claim 
of $1000 from the government was made, because of a 
defect in the title. The island was divided between Mr. 
Trefethern's son Henry and two sons-in-law, Thomas Orne 
and Josiah Starling. These had large families and many 
of their descendants still reside here. In 1880 the island 
polled 39 votes with 133 population, and was taxed for 
$10,305 (the rate of taxation is 25^ per cent). In 1870 it 
polled 42, and was valued at $24,345. The decline of the 
fisheries of late years and consequent decrease of popula- 
tion, with a total relinquishment of farming operations, has 
evidently depressed the valuation. Moreover, the song of 
the "Three Fishers" has been of such frequent recital, off 
the Georges and bevond, that the young men, and even the 
older, are finding in the industries of the main a safer song 
of profit. The island, of about 1000 acres, now contains 
30 cottages, with a number of dilapidated fish-houses, a 
school-house for twenty to thirty pupils, two small stores 
and a little chapel. In 1880' Mr. McClary, of Philadelphia, 
learning that the plantation was without a church, gave 
$600 for that purpose, under condition that $200 more 
should come from the inhabitants. The church was deeded 
to the Methodist conference. As the Adventists mostly 
control the religious fervor, they would not help maintain 
it, so after a struggle of six years the chapel and land has 
been deeded to the island as the "Union Chapel," and 
they all worship together. Of course, having no funds 
they have no pastor. Here is the divine chance for the 
sacrificing Christian minister who does not care to "lay up 
treasures on earth." I am always impressed by the simple 



OLD MOXHEGAN. 301 

Sunday service led by Fisherman Davis, and the tiny 
Sabbath school conducted by Mrs. Stevens, who is also 
postmistress. They are without singing books and a 
library, and need much assistance that the outside world 
can abundantly furnish. The little dwelHngs are dropped 
anywhere, only suiting the convenience of being near the 
harbor and the lines of rocks on which are spread the 
drying fish, while the larger and woodv portion beyond the 
lighthouse is unsettled. One ston}-, grassy lane (like that 
which all remember leads from "grandfather's" pastures to 
road or barn) twists about among the buildings, sometimes 
sending off a footpath toward the straggling cots out 
among the hillocks. The zig-zag fences and capsized stone 
walls were once built to keep the wandering cows from 
the little gardens, where the flowers are of unusual beaut}^ 
and brilliancy, acquired from the salty atmosphere. All 
the simple characteristics of very humble living, are visible. 
When the men are not abroad fishing or making prepara- 
tions, thev idly lie about the fish houses and upon the sand, 
watching the wind and waves. At the slightest ripple 
indicating the erratic mackerel or other fish, they are on 
the alert. The}' are utterly unable, or, perhaps, unwilling 
to undertake any other occupation, and the little hamlet 
wears a 

COMICAL ASPECT OF NEGLECT. 

But the houses within are exquisitely neat, for the women 
love their homes, and are seeminfrlv contented and cheer- 
ful. Several who have been here from 25 to 30 years tell 
me that when they visit the main land they are always 
homesick to return. Mackerel, cusk, haddock, pollock, cod, 
hake, herring and lobster are caught, and the return of a 
fishing schooner with yawls piled to the brim with shin- 
ing fish is a wonderous sight to our unaccustomed eves. 
Think of an hundred barrels at one catch! As soon as the 
boats touch the shore every man is in readiness, for the 
fish must be salted down without delay. With a keen 



J02 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

knife, several men deftly slit down the backs, throwing 
them upon a large wooden waiter, each man cutting about 
seventy a minute. Then they are seized by other hurried 
men, who, with mittened hands tear them open, "gutting" 
out the entrails and throwing them into a huge tub of 
bloody water, from which they are taken by other men 
and salted down into barrels. These men all carry the 
weather-beaten, practical, shrewd, humorous manners, char- 
acterizing the born native of the seafaring place, and they 
understand at once the curiosity of an outsider. Try to 
guy a fisherman and before you are aware you have been 
the dupe. To "go trawling" is another exciting work to 
us. Each half-mile of coil is baited with 500 hooks, and 
as they are drawn in over one side of the boat and the 
fish taken off they are again baited and thrown over the 
other side. Several miles of hooks are thus operated upon 
at one time. But we summer visitors only see from the 
surface, as the boats go out upon the sea under summer 
skies of pleasant sunshine and placid waters. So it is 
difficult to believe in the terrible gales and raging waves, 
concerning which the risky fishermen can relate almost 
incredible incidents of terror, suffering and loss. It is a 
fearful branch of industry. The little they gain is dearly 
earned from the pitiless sea. Small wonder is it that the 
fisheries were considered in colonial days so important that, 
before peace was secured from the mother country, Massa- 
chusetts would have no treaty until the fishing grounds 
were secured to the United States. The fishermen were 
among the class of persons exempt from the performance 
of military duty. I know now why the old carved cod-fish 
was hung in the Boston State House — not as a choice 
work of art, but to memorialize the determined spirit of 
our predecessors, that the future generations may be duly 
grateful. Let us cherish the revolutionary record! Monhe- 
gan's prosperity will be lightsome this year. The "hard 
times" have even reached this obscurity and made times 



OLD MONHEGAN. 303 

harder. Nearly 6000 quintals of fish are waiting for a 
market, and the fisherman counts his profits in vain. As 
the pogies suddenly disappeared in 1879, ^° ^^^ summer 
the mackerel have departed. But few barrels have been 
taken, and conjecture is without answer. 

Until three years ago Monhegan was without a post- 
office. The mail, which would accumulate at Herring Gut 
— now Port Clyde — on George's Island, would be brought 
over by some chance fisherman and distributed at the 
wharf. They were often without communication with the 
main land for weeks. Think of going two months or more 
without a newspaper or letter! Through the exertions of 
Congressman Dingley a mail was allowed twice a week 
from Boothbay. Few people can realize the hardships 
Capt. Humphrey endures in carrying the mail between 
Monhegan and Boothbay every Tuesday and Saturday — 
forty miles' sailing — for which he is paid $262 per year. 
During our stay here we have several times gladly watched 
the mail boat depart, and impatiently waited two days for 
its return. One Tuesday last winter, with the thermome- 
ter 15'^ below zero, and the vapor so thick that it was 
impossible to see, the captain started. The boat had pro- 
ceeded nearly half-way to Boothbay, when in reefing the 
mainsail, the man with him was knocked into the water, 
and rescued with the utmost difficulty, making it necessary 
to return to port. Wednesday, with the mercury and vapor 
the same, he again attempted to reach Boothbay, when his 
bowsprit and jib were torn away by the gale. Thursday 
his mainsail torn to tatters, and he tossed about help- 
lessly. Friday, while proceeding, he was knocked down 
by the sea, and the boat nearly filled and swamped with 
water. Saturday he arrived at Boothbay, having hired 
another boat to take him there. 

On the highest elevation of Monhegan stands a cheerful 
sentinel, the granite lighthouse, over 200 feet above the sea 
level. It is a revolving light, a Lepante, the same as manufac- 



jo^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

tured for the coast of France. It is called the " record order " 
of light, having three concentric wicks, with eight bull's 
eyes, and twelve open prisms above and five below\ Some 
800 gallons of kerosene per 3'ear are required. Between 
the flashes the time elapsing is one minute, and they are 
seen 19 nautical miles. From the cupola we have a mag- 
nificent view of the coast of Maine, from Penobscot bay on 
the east to Casco bay on the west. The Camden moun- 
tains back the northeast horizon, and we see Vinalhaven, 
the Georges islands, Pemiquid, Seguin, the mouths of the 
Georges, Damariscotta, Sheepscot and Kennebec rivers, 
and all the prominent coast landmarks. On the ocean side 
the sea is dotted with white sails laden with the freights 
of commerce. An evening pasttime is to watch from the 
rocks the phosphorescent waves breaking against the craggy 
shore, while above us, the flashes, trailing like comets far 
from the bright pinnacle, twirl slowly about the island, as 
if seeking us. This light was established in 1825 and re- 
built in 1851. In 1861 Mr. Humphrey, of Bristol, was 
appointed light keeper. Two years after, he died, and his 
wife was appointed in his place, which she filled with per- 
fect satisfaction to the government inspectors until her 
death in 18S0. At present William Stanley is in charge, 
and Mrs. Humphrey's son Frederick is assistant. On 
neighboring Manana is stationed a steam fog trumpet and 
a sonorous bell, which often in the night wakes us to the 
remembrance of others upon the deep. A few years ago 
an attempt was made to put telegraphic communication 
between the lighthouse and fog trumpet. The wires were 
passed to Smutty Nose, a large black rock in Small Har- 
bor, and thence to Manana. After several trials and a 
waste of $1000 the unfaithful wires were abandoned. Mr. 
C. C. WiUiams, who assumed his father's place, deceased 
four years ago, is keeper, with his young brother as 
assistant. Here they dwell on the rocky eminence of 33 
acres, where a few sheep exist, 100 feet above the sea. 



OLD MONHEGAN. 305 

with the faithful mother keeping their society. Here she 
has dwelt for nine years. On Manana we were shown the 
hieroglyphic characters on the rocks, which some antiqua- 
rians maintain to be the mysterious writings of the North- 
men visiting the Maine coast about the year 990. As 
the" " prehistoric " inscriptions are apparent in many places 
along the battered coast of Maine, our prosaic mind inter- 
pret only the action of frosts and storms. The wisdom of 
the savants is too far fetched for us. In a depression just 
below the lighthouse is the inevitable " God's Acre." Here 
are headstones, moss-grown and weather-beaten, and the 
quaint epitaphs which we find in all old graveyards. The 
oldest incription reads " Phebe Starling, died March 4, 
1784," that of a little girl who died of "canker rash," and 
she was buried by the crew of a coasting vessel, which 
came ashore to perform the service for the parents. The 
natural attractions of this island are wonderful, far sur- 
passing those of Mt. Desert. When the steamers can be 
induced to touch at Monhegan then it will become a resort 
of much interest. Some of the old people are against an 
influx of different fish to fry, and refuse to encourage the 
building of a proper wharf. The high sea walls, almost 
rimming the island, will make necessary a breakwater, and 
the expenditure of several hundred thousand dollars as a 
simple beginning. The whole southern side of the island 
are sheer cliffs, called Whitehead and Blackhead, of 150 to 
200 feet. Grand indeed is the view — impressive as the 
desolation of death! The isolation, the surging immensity 
so far below, in front and all about — deep green beneath, 
deep blue above — arouses a weird, shuddering awe, which 
remains with us for days. At another cliff, where the sea 
has beaten out a cave, many years ago a large amount of 
rock was exploded out to secure Capt Kidd's treasure. 
The legend relates that the treasure was reached, and they 
were about to lift a singular iron chest, when one spoke 
and the treasure vanished. One dear woman assures me 



3ob 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



that "lots of money is buried on this island," and many 
others believe it. The proverb runs : " Dig six feet, and 
you'll find iron; dig six feet more, and you'll find money," 

Susie V. 




THE GULF FISHERIES. 



FOR the last few years we have heard considerable about 
Snapperfishing, and going out to Pensacola, and so forth; 
and feeling that some would like to know something more 
about it we assume the task. 

Every winter there are a number of vessels fitted out at 
Pensacola and Mobile to engage in snapper-fishing, run- 
ning their fish fresh on ice to Pensacola. Some northern men, 
knowing this, fitted out vessels at Portland, Me., Cohasset, 
Mass., Provincetown, Mass., and New London, Conn., tak- 
ing single dories, and crews ranging from ten to seventeen 
men, and went south to make money and get clear of the 
cold weather. The result was, that fish fell in price from 
five to three cents per pound; and the price of ice has 
risen to seven dollars per ton. Owing to this, and finding 
that although not so cold as it was at home, the wind 
could blow just as hard and raise a worse sea, and that 
they could be sure of a gale of wind at least once a week, 
the Northern vessels have dropped off, until this winter 
there are only two out here, and they are not doing extra 
well. 

Let us take a trip together in the "Paul and Essie" 
with Captain Benson, a real old veteran: 

Leaving the wharf at Pensacola in the afternoon, we 
drop down to the Navy Yard at Warrington, where we 



3o8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

come to anchor and remain all night, the wind being light 
and dead ahead from -the southeast with a little rain. At 
daylight in the morning all hands are roused out and find 
a fine breeze from the northwest, so it is up anchor, make 
sail, and away we go over the bar with a fair wind, bound 
down to Middle Ground, a bank about two hundred miles 
east southeast from Pensacola. 

The " Paul and Essie " being a good sailer, we find ourselves 
in eighteen fathoms of water, with rough coral bottom, in 
twenty-four hours time, when we at once proceed to try 
for fish. Every man has his lines and tub of bait ready, 
and the two top dories all in the slings ready for starting 
over the side at the first sign of fish. 

A man is stationed at the main rigging with heaving 
lead and line with baited hook attached, and he keeps that 
going all the time, throwing the lead as much as twenty 
fathoms ahead of the vessel at each throw, until he gets a 
fish; then out goes one dory and the rest try their lines 
over the side (the boat being hove-to), and if fish are 
found plentiful the rest of the dories are sent out, and 
the vessel jogs round them until it is time to come aboard 
for dinner. The fish are thrown down in the hold out of 
the sun ■ — ■ four hundred being a good morning's catch — 
and, it becoming calm, the vessel is anchored. After dinner 
the dories go out again, each man going where he thinks 
best and not coming aboard until he gets a load or dark- 
ness drives him. The fish are then iced, the anchor watch 
set and we turn in pretty well tired out. The next day, it 
is rough, all hands fish from the rail, until we lose the 
fish, when we heave up and fish to a drift until we strike 
them " solid," when we anchor. So it goes on until the 
barometer falling, and rain clouds making up in the south- 
east, warn us that we must take advantage of the wind to 
get on before the dreaded " Norther," which invariably fol- 
lows rain, comes on. We make all sail and let her go for 
home, getting in safely before the gale, take out our fish 



GULF FISHERIES. 309 

and lie snugly at the wharf while it blows outside. Per- 
haps we are not so fortunate, and the Norther catches us 
before we get in, so we heave to under double reefed fore- 
sail and make the best of it, which is bad enough. 

Besides snappers, we catch yellow and black gropers, 
also Jew fish, which weigh sometimes as much as four 
hundred pounds. We also catch water-snakes, or eels, 
with a head and bill like a bird, colored black with small 
white spots all over it. Another fish we catch, which 
makes the best bait and is also the best eating, the porgie; 
it is not like the northern porgie, but nearly twice as 
large, tail forked, nose like a parrot's beak and very pret- 
tilv colored; body silver gray, tinged with purple and hned 
with orange toward the head and tail. Mullet and blue 
fish are obtained in great quantities round the shore by 
drag seines, not our northern blue-fish, however. These 
last named fish can be split and salted, keeping fully as 
well in pickle as mackerel. There is, also, a small silver- 
colored fish called Lady-fish. 

The principal fishing ground lies about seventy-five miles 
southeast by east from Cape San Bias, in N. Lat. 28 deg. 
24 min., West Lon. 84 deg. (14:20.) and consists 
of coral ridges with about fifteen fathoms on them, 
sand and mud between, with about twenty-five fathoms. 
The fish are on these ridges and are caught on hartd- 
lines, the bottom being so rough as to render trawling 
impracticable. A drift about east northeast from this gives 
fair fishing, with about twenty-one fathoms sand and coral. 
There is another good spot about forty miles southwest 
by west from San Bias in N. Lat. 29 deg. (i5:35) W. 
Lon. 85 deg. (35:50) with from twenty-four to thirty 
fathoms mixed bottom. There are other places, but not 
so good and are uncertain. 

A man makes a great mistake when he comes out here 
expecting to have a fine, easy time, and a little fortune in 
the winter. The months of December and January, espe- 



3IO 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



cially, are rough and boisterous, not to say cold, but we 
have had over half an inch of ice on deck already this winter 
and one snow storm. 

However, a man by attending to his business and work- 
ing in the right way can make wages, but I would advise 
any man who can make a living at all at home not to 
come to Pensacola snapper-fishing. 

Jas. M. Henderson. 




ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND. 



FROM THE NEW YORK OBSERVER. 

SOME one has wittily said that St. John's "is the fishiest 
city in the world." This one may well believe when he 
learns that the annual value of the cod fishery products is 
upwards of six millions. As we enter the land-locked har- 
bor through the " narrows," Signal Hill, five hundred and 
twenty feet, on one side, and Fort Amherst Lighthouse, a 
hundred feet higher, on the other, we are struck with the 
picturesque approach to the city. Since we sighted land, 
for many miles we have followed an iron-bound coast, 
dangerous in the extreme. Giant cliffs three hundred feet 
high, crowned with fir, threateningly face the sea, almost a 
solid wall, save as an arm of the sea reaches in now and 
then, forming a beautiful bay, a few white cottages crouch- 
ing on the shore. At intervals the rock has been wrenched 
aparc, and in the distant darkness a white ribbon of foam 
is fluttering to the breakers, a cascade that pours almost 
perpendicularly to the ocean beneath. Farther on is a 
ge3^ser, which finds its force and movement in the sea, the 
tide sending the water up in white jet at intervals. Some 
of the estuaries have a charming perspective as we 
pass, a great rock dividing the entrance and the far-off 
fishing hamlet with its back ground of green. But what a 
face the cliff has, — grim, stern, unrelenting; like the 



^12 . GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Sphinx, telling no tales of the wrecks that have gone 
down before its eyes! 

ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 

As we look at the map of North America we find that 
a triangular shaped island, England's oldest colony, lies 
across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to which it affords access 
at its northern and southern extremities. It is the tenth in 
size among the islands of the globe, 317 miles in length 
and 316 miles in breadth, containing 42,000 square miles. 
Its coast line is 2,000 square miles. Five hundred years 
before the days of Columbus and Cabot the Northmen dis- 
covered Newfoundland, as well as some portion of the 
main land of America. Leif, son of Eric, the Red, discov- 
ered what he called Helluland, which, no doubt, was New- 
foundland. But it was John and Sebastian Cabot, under 
"letters patent" from Henry VII, in 1497, who re-discov- 
ered the island, and brought it to the notice of the world. 
He was allowed by the stingy king to go at his own 
charges, but at last on his return was rewarded with a 
gratuity of £10 for discovering an island which has 
brought in millions for years to the English people. It was 
said of Sebastian Cabot, who died at eighty years, that 
" he gave England a continent, — and no one knows his 
burial place." No spot bears his name save a little island 
on the eastern coast of Newfoundland. 

The aborip;inal inhabitants of the island were Red 
Indians or Bceothies. They were originally, doubtless, from 
Canada, coming by the Straits of Belle Isle. They are 
supposed to have belonged to the Algonquin branch. 
There is now in the Museum of St. John's a human skull, 
the last token of a once powerful but now extinct tribe. 
It is said Cabot on his second voyage brought away three 
of the aborigines, and they were kept by the king in the 
palace of Westminster. They gradually melted away on 
the approach of civilization. In 1804 a female was taken 
by a fisherman, kindly treated and sent back loaded with 



ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND. 313 

presents. It was believed that she was murdered by the 
miscreant who was charged with her protection. In 1819 
another female was taken by a party of trappers and 
brought to St. John's, and in 1823 three more, two of whom 
died, but one lived two years. There is a pathetic account 
of how the last traces of the aborigines were found by a 
party from St. John's, who, in the interest of the 
"Boeothick Societ}-," went in .search of them. The sum- 
mer and winter wigwams; a wooden building constructed 
for drying venison; among the bushes of the beach a 
large and beautiful birch canoe, twenty-two feet in length, 
but Httle used, yet in wreck; even a "canoe rest" with 
the daubs of red ochre fresh upon it. But the Indians 
themselves were not found, they were all gone to the 
Great Spirit, and their history is untold. 

THE FISHERIES. 

The fishing interests of Newfoundland are the great 
source of its wealth at the present time; that it has unde- 
veloped possibilities there can be no doubt. The interior 
has not been known until a comparatively recent day. 
The geological survey, under the oversight of scientitic and 
thoroughly competent men, which is now going on, has 
been a revelation to the residents of the coast. Farming, 
lumbering and mining will yet employ thousands of men, 
and furnish occupation and homes to multitudes of emi- 
grants. Here is virgin soil capable of supporting millions 
of people; a climate much milder than Canada in the 
interior. Timber is of pine, birch, ash, poplar, willow and 
cherry. The sea may yield its millions to the people of 
the coast, but w^hen the railroad opens up the island the 
lands will yield millions more. 

The cod are taken on the Grand Banks, submarine 
islands six hundred miles long, and along the coast. The 
Banks fisheries are chiefly carried on by French and 
Americans, Newfoundlanders fishing along the shore. It is 



314 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

estimated there are taken in the aggregate annually 150,- 
000,000 or 3,700,000 quintals of tish which at $4 would 
be $14,800,000. Thus we see this is a great industry. It 
has been going on for three hundred and seventy years. 

Cold water seas are necessary to the life of the com- 
mercial food fishes. They could not exist in tropical seas 
or in the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. The Arctic 
current, which washes the shores of Labrador, Newfound- 
land, Canada and part of the United States, is the source 
of this vast wealth. Not only its temperature is favorable 
to the development of the commercial fishes, but it brings 
with it the food upon which they thrive. The Arctic seas 
are full of living slime. This becomes the food of minute 
crustaceans, and they the food of larger fishes. Newfound- 
land has 2,000 miles of coast washed by this Arctic cur- 
rent, while no other country has much more than half of 
the amount. 

THE YOUNG COD. 

These fish do not migrate to the Arctic regions, as was 
once supposed. They are local in their habits and confined 
to a limited area. They are governed in their movements 
by the presence or absence of food, the spawning instinct 
and the temperature of the water. At the period of repro- 
duction they return to the place of their birth. The cod 
drops its spawn free into the sea at a considerable distance 
from the bottom. The spawn does not sink, but goes 
through all its stages of development, swimming free in the 
sea quite near the surface. The eggs are transparent, and 
have a specific gravity so near that of seawater that they 
float as stated. They hatch in about sixteen days. 
The young cod in its first year grows to be about a foot 
in length. The cod taken on the Banks are much larger 
and nicer than those taken along shore. About thirty of 
Bank cod when dried make a quintal. The cod begin to 
appear on the coasts of Newfoundland about June ist. 
They are heralded by the caplin, a beautiful little lish 



ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND. 315 

about seven inches in length, which arrives in vast multi- 
tudes, swarming in enormous schools. These the cod fol- 
low and devour. The caplin furnishes the best bait for the 
fisherman. Rev. Mr. Harvey, the historian of the island, 
to whom we are indebted for this rcsiiDic, in describing the 
scene when, in a calm moonlight night in June, the fish are 
plentiful and the waters alive with marine forms, the sil- 
very sides of the cod flashing in the moonbeams as they 
leap out of the water and dash upon their prey, remarks: 
— "The world of waters, it would seem, is no more free 
from terror, pain, torture, than the land. Surrounded by 
ravenous foes, watching for their assaults, flying for dear 
life, fishes, it may be easily conceived, form a part of the 
creation that groaneth and travaileth in pain." The squid 
follow the caplin, which furnish food for the cod and bait 
for the fisherman. 

They are caught with hook-and-line, seine, the cod-net 
and the bultow. When the fisherman's boat comes in with 
the da^'^'s catch they are flung on the " stage," a rough- 
covered platform, projecting over the water and supported 
on poles, with* an instrument called a "pew." They are 
then seized by the "cut-throat," who severs the attachment 
between the gill-covering and the belly at a stroke, and 
from the opening slits the abdomen. He then makes a cut 
on either side of the head at base of the skull. Then the 
"header" takes them; the liver is taken out, the head 
wrenched off, the viscera removed; the tongue and sounds 
are also taken out. The fish is then passed to the split- 
ter, who places it on its back and holding it open with 
his left hand, takes a splitting knife with his right and cuts 
along the left side of the backbone to the base of the tail. 
The fish now lies open on the table. With a sharp stroke 
of the knife the backbone is severed at a short distance 
from the extremity. Catching the end thus freed he lifts 
it slowly and following along its side with his knife quickly 
cuts it from the body. It then passes to the " Salter," is 



3i6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

carefully washed and salted in piles on the floor. After 
remaining the proper time in salt it is carried to the 
"flake" to be cured. 

Among the industries of Newfoundland is seal fishing, 
which comes at a time of year when the cod-fishers are 
not employed, about the first of March. There are em- 
ployed about twent3^-five steamers carrying from 150 to 
300 men each. This brings in more than a million dollars, 
and has amounted to more than a million and a half in 
some years. It is intensely exciting, but cruel, work; none 
but hardy and vigorous men could endure it. 

The salmon of Newfoundland are exceptionally fine; 
20,000 pounds were exported in cans in 1881, and 3,689 
tierces; they are frequently so plentiful in the season as to 
sell for four or five cents a pound in St. John's. They 
might be a source of immense income to the island if reck- 
lessness and ignorance had not depleted many of the rivers. 

" The Great American and Short-line Railway Com- 
pany" have applied for a charter. Their desire is to con- 
struct a line from the eastern coast of Newfoundland to a 
point near Cape Ray, thence a steam ferry to carry mails 
and passengers near Cape North in Cape Breton, a distance 
of fiftv-six miles, from which point a railway is to be built 
to the strait of Canso. This being crossed, the railroad 
system of Canada and the United States is reached. A 
line of swift steamers is to ply between a port on the west 
coast of Ireland and the Newfoundland port. Thus, it is 
thought, two days would be saved and a thousand miles of 
ocean travel. 

When this scheme is fulfilled, Newfoundland, a terra 
incognita to man}^, will be opened to the world. The Red 
Cross Line put on two new steamers last year, ■ — the 
Miranda and Portia, — iron screws, offering an elegant and 
well-appointed line for tourists from New York, which 
make the trip in forty-five hours to Halifax and from Hal- 
ifax in forty-eight. . 



ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND. 31? 

The mining interest of the island bids fair to be of great 
value. It stands sixth now among copper-producing coun- 
tries of the globe, and yet is but just begun to be devel- 
oped. 

Among the pleasant friendships we made in St. John's 
was the Rev. Mr. Harvey, historian of the island, who is 
authority for the facts in this article. He is a scientific 
gentleman, widely known as a writer, and cordially remem- 
bered by those who have had the pleasure of his acquaint- 
ance. 

I know of no tour of eleven hundred miles which com- 
bines so much unique pleasure and perfect rest as the trip 
to this island in the North Atlantic. The frowning coast 
was swiftly passed by our good ship, and the Miranda 
was at her pier. — A Country Parson. 



THE SHAD RUNNING. 



FROM THE PHILADELPHIA TIMES. 

THE fisheries lie a few miles down the river from Philadelphia, where the 
Delaware pushes a beautiful arm into the Jersey shore. During the shad 
season thousands from Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, New York and, 
indeed, from all parts of the country, are frequently present to witness the 
" hauls" of the great seine and revel in shad planked in less than thirty min- 
utes after the gleaming beauties have been landed from the dripping nets. 

The tide is sweeping in and the shad are running. The gigantic seine, a 
mile and a quarter in length, averaging 60 feet in width, has been "shifted 
aboard" upon the square 12-foot stern of a 70-foot rowboat. Manned by a 
crew of sixteen at their 18-foot oars, and the seine made fast to a hand-end 
capstan by 300-fathom lines, the seine boat, often lustily cheered by the great 
crowds ashore, sets out to the south until the slack-line from the capstan be- 
comes taut, when they cast anchor and await the flood-tide signal from old 
Capt. Gossar from the Point 

Here between the crew's picturesque cabin and a two-century-old cottage, 
worthy a romance or a poem, stands a little hut covering a " tide clock." 

40 



3i8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Mouldy precedent makes this sacred ground; and, as if the fate of a nation 
depended upon the exact instant of action, the venerable fisherman, trem- 
bling with excitement, gives the signal — a white flag in a clear skj, a heave 
on the line from the capstan in a fog, and a red light by night. It is a fine 
sight as the great seine-boat now bears west towards League Island, " rak- 
ing " or paving off the seine over the stern roller. After one third of a mile 
has been traversed the seine-boat heads due north for another third of a mile, 
and thence east toward the landing place in front of the one hotel which has 
made planked shad famous throughout America. Here upon the beach the 
seine lines are fastened to a tremendous reel. 

At the moment the seine-boat casts anchor and begins paying off the seine, 
old Capt. Gossar and his land end crew commence hauling in the seine lines 
at the shore end capstan. Following this is seen a picturesque grouping of 
men wading waist deep in the surf and along the glistening beach, slowly 
dragging the great seine north along shore, with many merry " Yo-o-o — • 
ho-o-os!" and much melodic " chantying," so that the "haul "is really begun 
long before the water end has been given the great two-mile sweep which 
brings it in shore to its own capstan fastenings. 

The busy crews wear "beckets," or loops of netting over their shoulders, 
to which are attached doubled lines and wooden pegs. Each man scampers 
into the water to his middle, fastens up his "becket" by loop and peg to the 
rope-edge of the seine and then heaves ashore right merrily, hastening back 
to repeat the labor; thus keeping a sort of endless chain of man power in the 
haul on the seine, from which all sorts of flotsam and jetsam are taken as it 
comes dripping ashore. At the windlasses in the water, wherever any of 
these men are at labor, every one is straining his powers to the utmost, for a 
quick haul after seine-ends are landed is profitable. 

The " bag," or say about sixty fathoms of the middle of the seine, contains 
all the fish taken, among which are frequently found the rock and sturgeon; 
and as the "bag" now comes speedily ashore, the splashing and cavorting of 
the gleaming fish, the shouts of the crews, the increasing animation of the 
lookers-on and the ragged, nondescript craft hovering about from curiosity 
and for prey, assist in forming as interesting a scene as one could witness. 

Market boats are instantly brought alongside ; the shad are taken with great 
rapidity from the seine by hand and in scoop-nets, and inside a half hour — 
by which time scores of pilgrim epicures are luxuriating over their planked 
shad taken in that very haul — a steam tug has landed the catch at the old 
Dock street Market in Philadelphia. 



SALT WATER LINES. 



Some Gleanings from the Sea. A Poem, delix'ered before the 

Farmers' Club, at Andover, Alass., Feb. "jth., iSSj, 

by Joseph W. Smith. 

Poets, the proverb says, are bom, not made, 
And I 'm convinced the poet's not my trade, 
Whether by birth or making— neither one— 
And you may deem it strangest 'neath the sun 
That I am here, all bubbling- o'er with rhyme. 
To add my quota to your festive time. 
But many queer things happen now-a-days. 
And we are found in most incongruous ways ; 
Round posts are placed in holes exactly square, 
The square posts in the round, seen everywhere. 
And we are forced, despite our do or say. 
In untoward positions day by day. 
We have been told that the surrounding hills 
Pour out some product in exuberant rills, 
Which we believe or not— no matter which — 
But likely not until we prove it " sich." 
Fair Arlington may yield its milky tide. 
And Ipswich cider burst the hill's green side. 
Old Medford from its hidden 8i)rings may flow, 
And Andover has mighty springs to show, 
Where deep philosophy runs forth in streams. 
And other springs, perhaps, the fancy deems, 
And, without anj' incubating pains 
That torture bards with offspring of their brains. 
May it not be that I have tapped some spring 
And filled my inkstand with the song I sing. 
Pouring my strains for your uncertain ken. 
And shed my lay as if I were a hen f 
From Topics of an agricultural turn, 
—Embracing everything from plow to churn- 
Big crops, big steers, big porkers and big schemes 
With which the farmer's conversation teems, 
— ( Teaming with power more great than hath an ox. 
That all endeavor to surpass it "knocks,")— 
I leave the field and seaward turn my face. 
Upon whose ample breast I take my place. 



J20 GLEAIV/NGS FROM THE SEA. 

And g-uide my ijlough, with fiuTows Xowa and deep. 
Along- the waves, majestic in their sweep. 
Wider and grander their extended charms 
Than all the compass of your landed farms. 
And gather crops from 'neath the yielding tide. 
At once my recreation and my pride. 

The morn is fair, haul taut the flapping sail : 
We spread our wings to catch the favoring gale; 
The water sparkles brightly at our prow. 
And joy inspires the heart as on we plough. 
Leaving the lap of mother earth behind 
As 't were her children for a " lark " inclined, 
Dashing the waves aside with rapturous glee. 
From trammels of the town's observance free. 
The sea in dalliance bathes our flashing sides. 
And seeming laughter murmurs in the tides, 
The glad display of ocean pleading more 
Than all the humdrum racket of the shore. 

But let the novice in his fireside nook 

With no fond longing on the ocean look, 

For how'er kindly Neptune greets his friends. 

To green novitiates he rough treatment lends. 

And, making sailors, he commends a cup 

Of old school practice in the bringing up. 

All love the sea, but those of gentler blood 

Were better home than on the heaving tlood; 

But if of ocean they would have their flU, 

'T were wiser far to climb some neighboring hill. 

And watch the billows beaming in their sight. 

Without a hinderment to appetite. 

The killock cast, now drop the tempting line. 
Inviting denizens below to dine. 
A treacherous allurement this, no doubt. 
But as a victual question counted out. 
When all accord, with sentiment and wish. 
To leave the matter wholly with the fish. 
A bite !— all scruples quickly disappear. 
As o'er the rail the mammoth cod we rear. 
And every thought compunctious now is hid 
Within the limits of the fisher's kid. 
The farmer may enjoy a triumph keen 
When some new product of his skill is seen. 
The merchant gladden o'er his profits snug. 
The savant glow with some new plant or bug. 
The grave philosopher in bi-ighter light 
May joy in some old truth set nearer right. 
The maiden glory in her new caught flame. 
The matron smile approval of the same, 
But none, with full attainment of their wish. 
Can rival his who takes his first cod fish. 

E'en wise professors, learned in the schools, 
Forget sedateness and collegiate rules. 
With the first fish exhibiting a joy 
That beats the glad exuberence of the boy. 
Whom he 'd chastise for half the wild offence 
That he commits in his delight intense. 



SALT WATER LfXES. J^r 

As hand o'er hand the festive fish are drawn. 
No conscience tender need he put in pawn 
By any story that the credence tries. 
For all fulfill the complement of size. 
And, if exaggeration 's used at all. 
It must, to be believed, make fish more small ! ! 
How they come in ! What monsters do we pull ! 
All twenty-pounders, and the kid is full ; 
And there is one, full fifty pounds, I 'd 8aj% 
The big-gest yet— by George, he's got away! 
Fifty, said I ?— I '11 set him twenty more. 
And then the figure is quite low I 'm sure, 

A scent pervades the air— a pungent smell- 
That fishers and their guests know very well. 
Which blends in unison of land and sea. 
An epicurean sweet mystery. 
The onion dominant, in presence thei-e. 
That with the strongest perfumes may compare. 
A flagrant outrage often deemed at home. 
But fragrant out upon the ocean's foam. 
Where the grand chowder magnifies its claim. 
As chief of stews, to epicurean fame. 
To Yankee taste the chowder holds a lot. 
That's not surpassed by haggis to the Scot, 
But ne'er so grateful as when, on the sea. 
Alfresco serving gives it poignancy. 
I 've heard it said that vessels, outward bent. 
Will leave their course to catch the chowder scent, 
As from some fisher 's deck it may ascend. 
And on the wind to their glad noses wend, 
(Reminder of the land from which they part). 
The ne plus ultra of the cooking art. 

Now clouds the sun, and in the darkening west 
An angry looking squall makes manifest. 
And muttering thunder, heard above the sea. 
Betokens elemental anarchy. 
The winds released rave o'er the darkened main, 
And our good vessel chafeth at her chain; 
Now drenching pours the rain with furious night. 
Shutting all trace of neighboring land from sight. 
While howling o'er the waves the tempest's wail 
Proclaims the struggle of the hostile gale. 
The fisher heeds not the ferocious din. 
Save to make sure his anchor, and turns in. 
To wait the clearing of the summer sky. 
That well he knows will be along " by 'n by," 
For, like the sea-birds, he the warning tells 
And in all sea philosophy excels. 

But not alone the cod and smaller fry 

Content the fisher, with ambitious eye : 

His the impulsion and his warmest boast 

To meet the sword-fish— monarch of the coast. 

Who, foe to all (the finny tribe his prey). 

Has drawn his sword, and thrown the sheath away. 



322 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

His bannered fln, of buckaneerish black, 
Swing-ing defiant from his warlike back. 
One g-lance alone— the fisher swiftly steers 
To where, above the wave, the fin appears. 
And, mounting to the pulpit's toppling- site. 
His trained eye seconding his muscle's might. 
He drives the iron through the monster's side. 
Who darts away like lightning 'mid the tide, 
Feeling the barb, but vain his mad essay 
From his approaching doom to get away. 
The boat is manned, the tub of lines bestowed. 
And on they go like racers o'er the road I 
The stricken fish his fate impending feels 
With his brisk foeman close upon his heels, 
'Till, his endeavor counting him as nought, 
He yields to the conviction that he 's " caught." 
Weakens and weakens in his dying strait. 
And yields him to the certainty of fate— 
Unless, perhaps, enough of life remains 
To put the fisher to the utmost pains. 
And, by a sword-thrust or malignant blow. 
Treats his pursuer to an overthrow, 
Who, ere he has a chance to wink or think. 
Finds himself floundering in the briny "drink." 
Hunters may seek to kill the mild-eyed deer. 
The timid tenants of the woodland sphere, 
But here upon the ocean's broad expanse. 
The fisher with his nerve-directed lance, 
Findeth a foeman worthy of his steel. 
And risks his life the victory to seal. 

But not exclusively the fisher's art 
Captures the fancy and controls the heart. 
The yachtsmen with the fishermen divide 
The honors of the everlasting tide. 
And every water exultation feels 
At the invasion of their daring keels. 
We hail the yacht, enlivening the scene. 
Where floated once our mercantile marine. 
Like fairy craft their white sails flout the air. 
As on they flee in sportive action fair. 
Cleaving the waves with rapid speed and grace. 
And winning praise, if not, all times, the race. 
All cannot win— that 's so, since time began— 
But all who own a yacht contend she can. 
Of late how every Yankee pulse was up 
To keep possession of the champion cup, 
A nation's honor trembling in the scale. 
And what if, in the trial, we should /aii .' 
Portentous thought! possessing every man. 
When up popped Burgess and his Puritan. 
The eagle screamed, the lion roared his bass. 
And the white sloop retained the cup in place! 
So when another trial came about— 
The cup— momentous dipper !— still in doubt. 
The Mayflou'er—gv&nd. old Puritanic name !— 
Bespoke the job and took the cup the same. 
From the proud note of joy that then went up. 
It might be thought that all had ta'en a cup 



SALT WATER LINES. J2j 

Of something strong-er than the silver mug. 
O'er which the sturdy yachtsmen had their tug. 
The British lion angrily withdrew, 
The Eagle screaming up the empyrean flew. 
Gazing in triumph on the scene below. 
While the whole nation felt a cheerful glow! 
Puritan stock, though watered in this case, 
Will e'er claim standard value on its face. 
And representatives of Plymouth Rock 
Will always hold first place as premium stock. 

And what a pride the jaunty yachtsman shows, 
When, home returning, beams his ruddy nose- 
Perhaps the only trophy he has won, 
A badge of honor from the regal sun! 

I often feel that yachts may be like men. 

Improving on examples that they ken. 

And that the dash and vim they sometimes make 

From their ;?erce masters they the impulse take. 

My own sweet, modest, graceful Jennie B., 

I know takes all her pleasant traits from me. 

Coyly and kind she courses o'er the main. 

For no erratic execution fain, 

Content to yield submission to my wish, 

If bound for pleasure or to seek for flsh; 

A yacht sedate, with no eccentric pranks. 

If at her moorings or on Tanto's Banks, 

I feel secure, with tiller at command, 

As if with any tiller of the land. 

But fearful is the aspect of the main. 

When, worse than wind, or wave or drenching rain. 

The fog comes stealing o'er its surface bright, 

Like a vile thief in the obscuring night, 

And, ere we half the subtle change may mark. 

The cloud envelopes us and all is dark!— 

All gone the land— no vestige can we see— 

And all around us is one dread mystery. 

The world shut out. creation in eclipse. 

The Jennie B. through fog and wat«r slips, 

A wall of cloud above and all around. 

An oar's length limit our encircling bound. 

In lonliest abandonment ai-e we. 

With no companion but the seething sea. 

That seems to hold the darkening gloom in fear. 

And fain would board us for imagined cheer. 

Oh, what a sense of dreariness prevails 

As the dense cloud persistently assails ! 

The damp environment our pulses chills. 

While dread uncertainty our being thrills. 

Not knowing where we are, or what, or how, 

Ourselves, alone, of all existence now. 

Remainders frail of the great world below. 

Our bound the fog banks that around us grow. 

The sticky helm scarce heeds the steerer's hands, 

As en the Jennie B. at random stands. 



324 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

The while we hear, mid pauses of the sea. 

Imagined breakers booming- on our lee. 

Giving the heart anxiety intense, 

With interposing fog's obscuring dense. 

Drop anchor !— there, kind heaven be thanked, we know 

There is no fog to worry us below. 

All clear again ! the sun asserts its power. 
The foggy banks before his influence cower. 
The anchor raised, and with the grateful wind 
We leave our care and grumbling all behind; 
More fair the sea to our admiring eyes, 
More brightly bend the ovei-arching skies. 
More gay the world, late buried in the gloom. 
As if 't were resurrected from its tomb. 
And on we speed, above the summer wave. 
With nothing for our happiness to crave; 
The bounding keel responds to urgent sail. 
And the pulse quickens 'neath the gentle gale. 
Talk of your spans and your equestrian bliss! 
What are they to a turn-out such as this ? 

But there are times that yield not such delight. 

When flsh are scarce, and what there are won't bite. 

And all the longing of the heart and soul 

Is centered on the hooks you vainly troll. 

Giving the flsh a chance along your wake. 

Which they seem very ill disposed to take. 

This thing occurs when mackerel are shy. 

Who watch the flsher with contemptuous eye. 

His lavishment of bait bestowed in vain. 

While they cavort in schools about the main. 

Picking a bit with a fastidious look. 

But e'er avoiding carefully the hook. 

At such time patience leaves the fisher's breast. 

And the poor fellow jieldeth to the test. 

Searches his lexicon for thunderous words 

Of imprecation on the scaly herds. 

Who come and go with infinite content. 

And for his fretting do not care a cent. 

Thus did I find it once with Captain Frank, 

When we of clams had failed a solvent bank. 

And not a mackerel gave a look or sign 

Of anything desired in ovir line, 

As on we drifted mid a summer day. 

Across the waters of old Saco Bay. 

( Who's Captain Frank V My captain and my friend. 

Born by the sea and there will, may be, end, 

A student of it since his earliest look. 

And reads its mysteries as it were a book.) 

We had discussed the theologic schism 

At Andover about the catechism. 

When Captain Frank, in tone chagrined a mite. 

Failing to get the inkling of a bite, 

As he drew in his far extended line 

Said—" This is hopeless fishing, I opine. 



SALT WATER LINES. 

"Come, let's no more this dodge persuasive make, 
" But from the ' old school ' new departure take." 
But with the " new departure " comes a doubt 
Whether 't is quite so safe to venture out! 
And if, when gained some other fishing ground, 
A better catch may there be likely found. 
But on the new departure may await 
A change in modus, and a change in bait 
Adapted to the fishes' change of mind. 
Which to a different diet is inclined. 
Shall we depart or not ?— " Ay, there 's the rub ! " — 
Shall we lay back, while others fill their tub. 
Who only share with us the hope and wish 
For the riffM grounds and better fare of fish ? 
Are we quite wise in drifting o'er the Bay, 
While others, ./MS? beyond, may win the day. 
Dropping their lines in ocean deep and wide. 
And drawing in the treasures from its tide ? 
The fishermen of Galilee, we 're taught. 
Had "toiled all night" and ne'er a fish had caught. 
But when "The Master" new departure bade. 
They pushed from land and further trial made. 
With such success that e'en their nets gave way 
Beneath the burden of the finny prey. 

The safest course ive crave— with doubt oppressed- 
May God, all wise, reveal which is the best ! 
Therefore we wait, midst clouds and vapors dark. 
And drop our anchor to secure our bark, — 
Drop also, with the anchor, all our fight. 
Hoping and praying fervently for light. 

These episodes embodied in my rhyme, 
Are but the sea-shore rote in summer time, 
(Where plaj'f ully the shore and water meet. 
And timid Savmterers gaily dip their feet,) 
Compared with interests hinged upon the deep. 
The whole world comprehended in their sweep ! 
The fisher's art a place momentous shares. 
But little his for all he does and dares ! 
Wealth, station, ease upon his toils attend. 
And he is but a toiler at the end. 
Daring vicissitudes of strife and pain, 
A scanty living from the sea to gain. 
But swelling coffers, others to possess. 
With small return his vacant jjouch to bless. 

And varied fortunes do the fishers meet! 
When fi-om fair Gloucester starts the Georges fleet. 
All buoyant with exuberance of hope 
Successfully with wind and wave to cope. 
The vessels bending to the favoring gale. 
While benedictions follow as they sail. 
The gleaming waves of Massachusetts Bay 
Flecked with their canvas as they speed away ! 
Forgotten in excitement of his art 
The parting sad that rung the fisher's heart— 
41 



S^S 



32b 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Those farewells spoken but so little past, 
Those partings bitter that may prove the last! 
These all return when out upon the main, 
And quietude has come to him ag-ain. 
With blissful power, all other thoughts above, 
Sweet recollections of domestic love ! 
His heart inspired, he feels nor doubt nor fear 
With those fond benedictions in his ear. 
Alas ! the sequel far too often shows 
How hope all fled as raging storms arose. 
And all in vain could sturdy skill contend 
Against the tempest's power to wreck and rend; 
And those returning shock with grief the town 
By tales of how the gallant bark went down. 
Hark to the widow's cry! the orphan's moan! 
God pity them— and hearts are not of stone. 

And others come not back from other cause: 

The want of knowledge of the fishery laws; 

The "three-mile limit" is so dimly shown 

That they depend on guessing it, alone; 

The headlands bother them and these they guess. 

And find themselves in just a "pretty mess," 

With frowning gun-boats, armed with real guns 

And manned by Canada's all thundering sons. 

With customs officers, backed up by laws. 

Which force the Yankee skipper overawes. 

But says : " Well, here I 'm stuck, but give me chance 

"To show my heels, and you may go to France. 

" I may through ignorance have been amiss, 
" But don't you think my country '11 hear of this';' 
" And then, I guess, you '11 have to let me go." 
But Echo answered, with a wink, " Do n't know:'' 

Now home returning— moves the Jennie B.— 

I for the moment leave the mighty sea. 

And bring my gleanings on your ears to throw. 

Though ?ort(7— the gleanings, not the ears, you know,— 

Showing a little of a wondrous whole, 

A subject far beyond my mind's control; 

To write of which I 'd have again to go 

And test that spring, supposed, of wondrous flow. 

And dip my inkstand in its running tide. 

Which aided me to run this circuit wide. 

But now avast ! my muse suspends her flight, 

And will not budge another foot to-night. 

Her sea-legs shaky, and her steps at fault. 

She 's stiff as Lot's wife from excess of salt. 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



IN 1883 I published a small book, entitled " Winter Talk 
on Summer Pastime,'''' the matter being composed, mainly, 
of yachting and fishing experiences the summer previous, 
among which I introduced a chapter upon the Life-Savin g 
Service along the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. In 
the present volume, based upon the former, this chapter 
has been retained, mainly as it then appeared, thus ac- 
counting for the remoteness of the occurrences described, 
but which will always be read as historical evidences of 
the valor and prowess of the brave men of that past, to be 
compared with the conduct of those of succeeding time, so 
meritorious and grand, of which I have herein included a 
goodly account. I have brought the record of incidents 
down to nearly the time of publishing my volume, most of 
them replies to my personal solicitation, and they reveal a 
quality of merit unsurpassed in the annals of maritime ex- 
ploit. With the loftiest idea of duty, combining in their 
conduct philanthropy and heroic daring, these noble sons 
of the sea will, as has lately been shown in the Vineyard 
service, give their lives to the cause, the poor return of a 
scanty salary not half equivalent for their risk; and with an 
indifferent public appreciation, their virtue is almost literallv 
left to its own reward. A mere mention in the newspa- 
pers constitutes their fame, and this, mingled with an 



328 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

account of beach strewn fragments and local incidents, re- 
duces their effort to a commendable but commonplace 
affair. But they, nevertheless, pursue their round of duty 
with an earnest will, unheralded and unknown, until it 
comes to notice through accidents by flood, with loss of 
life perhaps attending it. I hope that those who read these 
pages, portraying the dangers as well as benefits attending 
this service, will take a more kindly interest in the brave 
fellows who compose the crews, whose gallant efforts have 
done, and are doing, so much for humanity and the saving 
of property. 



FROM THE "WINTER TALKS. 

Having reeled up our fishing lines, I will now give a 
few sketches of the Life-Saving Service. One of the sta- 
tions is located at Biddeford Pool, and since its organiza- 
tion I have been interested in the men in charge, and 
mindful of the dangers they may have to encounter. The 
brief history of this service is replete with adventures and 
wonderful achievements in life-saving. 

All along our rugged coast are placed life-saving sta- 
tions manned by stalwart and fearless men, who have fol- 
lowed the sea and know the wants of, and can administer 
aid to, a fellow man in trouble, as no others can. The life- 
saving service had its origin in Great Britain, The Amer- 
ican life-saving service, under the present system, is ten 
vears old. In the year 1871, Hon. Sumner I. Kimball 
succeeded to the head of the Revenue Marine Bureau of 
the Treasury Department, under the charge of which were 
the life-saving stations. In his brain originated the idea of 
guarding the entire coasts of the nation by establishing a 
chain of these stations, to be in charge of thorough sea- 
men, men living in the neighborhood and having a knowl- 
edge of the shoals and dangerous rocks along the shore. 

A code of regulations was prepared, and so stringent 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. j2g 

were they, that none but the courageous and fearless were 
fit subjects to fill the positions as surfmen. Political pre- 
ferment was entirely abandoned. Volumes might be writ- 
ten of the preliminary steps and workings of the institu- 
tion during the short time since its organization. 

A bill was introduced in Congress after the ground had 
been thoroughly looked over by men competent to have the 
matter in charge, and in June, 1874, ^^ became a law. 
The bill provided for the extension of the field of labor, 
and of the bestowing of medals of honor upon persons 
risking their lives to save others. It is impossible to make 
statements to exaggerate a shipwreck; those who have 
experienced its thrilling scenes can testify to the truth of 
this remark. The machinery which has been devised is no 
less remarkable than the successful handling of the same. 

There is a room in Washington set apart for all known 
life-saving implements, and open at all times for visitors. 
Great credit is due to the daring men who have so many 
times performed the service of saving life and property. 

The English life-boat is in general use in our western 
lakes, but its heavy weight (two to four tons), precludes 
its use on the flat beaches and shoal waters of the Atlantic. 
An American boat of one thousand pounds weight is 
best suited to the eastern shores. It is placed upon 
wheels, and drawn to the place opposite the wreck by the 
men themselves, when no horses can be procured. It re- 
quires great skill in launching the boat and afterwards 
manning it. Perhaps most of my readers have seen a fish- 
erman go over the breakers on a beach in his dory. How 
skillfully he watches his chances, and his movements must 
be well-timed, if not his boat is swamped; so with the 
managing of the life-boat. 

It is an imposing sight to see a hfe-boat launched and 
skillfully managed through the breakers. Then, when the 
wreck is reached, no less skill is necessary to keep the 
boat from thumping in her sides as she lies alongside, or 



jjo GLEAXIXGS FROM THE SEA. 

in performing the hazardous undertaking of embarking her 
living freight and landing them safely upon shore. JNIanv 
are the number of vessels that have been safely piloted 
into a snug harbor, while wreck after wreck has been re- 
lieved of those imperilled, and afterwards dashed to pieces 
upon the rocks. 

The annual reports issued by the Bureau every year 
show an admirable record of the saving of life and property. 

To those unacquainted with the workings of the institu- 
tion I would say that suitable buildings are erected at dan- 
gerous points upon the coast, containing a large room, with 
double doors for the life- boat, and all the implements and 
paraphernalia for the service: a general room for cooking 
and where the men can sit when off duty; above, a room 
for the keeper, and a large room for the men, seven in 
number, and a bed for each man. The duties of the men 
are as follows: On the coast where the stations are near 
together, systems of checks have been adopted. At sunset 
two men start from the station, one going to the right, the 
other to the left: each travels on his lonely path over loose 
sand, ragged boulders, or climbing his way along the 
rocky shore, notwithstanding the blinding snow storms, if 
in winter, and at any time of the year contending- against 
hio-h winds and rain storms. When men meet from differ- 
ent stations thev exchange checks and return to their re- 
spective quarters. The night is divided into four watches. 
The keeper has a log-book, in which he puts down the 
name of each patrolman and his duty, and has to see that 
the requirements are lived up to. A record has also to be 
made of the direction and force of the wind at sunrise, 
noon, sunset and midnight, together with the events of each 
day. Every week the keeper is obliged to send a trans- 
cript of events, just as they occurred, to headquarters at 
WashiniTton. As soon as it is ascertained that a vessel is 
ashore and wants assistance, the keeper must use his judg- 
ment whether it is prudent to launch the life-boat. 



THE LIFE-SAVIXG SERVICE. jji 

Upon the lakes, during 1881, some of the deeds of res- 
cue have enveloped the rough figures of the life-saving 
men in a blaze of heroism. One example was at the 
wreck of the Amazon off the Grand Haven piers in Lake 
Michigan — a large four-masted twin-screw steamer, with 
sixty-eight persons on board, thirty of whom were passen- 
gers. The wind and waves were dashing the steamer to 
pieces, and it was beginning to sink, when, after almost 
superhuman exertions, the hawser and hauling lines were 
connected with the foremast, and the life-car was sent out 
with one of the life-saving crew to superintend operations. 
In an hour and a quarter every one on board was landed. 
The first trip of the car brought on shore four ladies and 
a little girl, the second came with six ladies. It made 
fourteen trips in all, the last two or three being devoted to 
bringing ashore the United States mails and some of the 
baggage of the passengers. A dog was also brought on 
shore. 

These men, who confront danger and face death, ought 
to receive, at the hands of Government, ample compensa- 
tion; also social protection in the form of pensions to the 
widows and orphans of those who perish in the perform- 
ance of their humane work. More than once has a life- 
saving crew been lost outright. In 1S76, on the North 
Carolina shore, a surf-boat went out to assist a vessel and 
never returned. 

Upon the Atlantic coast it is oftentimes in winter too 
rough even to launch a boat, and in this case thev resort 
to the life-saving ordnance, which has been greatlv im- 
proved of late years. The gun in use was cast iron, 
weighing two hundred and eighty-eight pounds and throw- 
ing a ball, with a line attached, four hundred and twentv- 
one yards. This gives place to the Parrott gun, weighino- 
two hundred and sixty-six pounds, with a range of four 
hundred and seventy-three yards. The first ball fired in 
the United States to save life is preserved, in the museum 



332 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

of the life-saving service at Washington, with tender care. 
It was used at the wreck of the Ayrshire, on Squam 
Beach, New Jersey, in 1830, and two hundred and one 
lives were saved through its means. The Lyle gun is of 
bronze, weighing one hundred and eighty-five pounds, with 
a range of six hundred and ninety-five yards. This has 
superseded all others, and is considered the best in exist- 
ence. The rocket, so much used abroad, is found to be 
uncertain. The shot line in use, like the gun, is the result 
of careful experiment. It is made of strong linen thread, 
closely and smoothly braided and water proof. It is coiled 
in a " faking box " so exactly that it will run off freely 
and fly to a wreck without getting tangled. The gun 
must be aimed so that the line will fall over the ship; 
rather a difficult matter to manage in the night-time, and 
more especially if there is a blinding snow storm. In case 
of failure the Hne is drawn in and coiled or laid out in 
loops upon a " tarpaulin " spread upon the shore, ready for 
the second trial. The sailors, as soon as the line reaches 
them, pull upon it till the whip or hauling line — an inch 
and a half in circumference — -is made fast to the shore end 
of the shot line, which is drawn on board with a pully- 
block, or tail-block, and a tablet or tally-board with in- 
structions (English on one side, French on the other) how 
to arrange it for use. When this is fixed, the surfmen 
haul upon one part of the whips and send the hawser, 
which rests on a crotch, quickly erected on shore as a 
sort of temporary pier. The sand-anchor sustains this 
slender bridge of rope. It is composed of two pieces of wood 
crossed at their centres and bolted together, and is buried 
in a trench behind the crotch and connected with the hawser 
by a double pully-block. The breeches-buoy is drawn to and 
fro upon these ropes, bringing one person at a time. 

" All this seems very easy upon paper, particularly when 
the sun shines through the lattice, or the reader occupies a 
soft-cushioned chair before a warm cheerful tire. But 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. jjj 

when darkness reigns, and the winds howl, and every drop 
of spray freezes until the rescuers are encased in ice, and 
the wreck rises, and rolls, and turns half somersaults, with 
each gust, in total disregard of the convenience of the surf- 
men, and a hundred possible mishaps, which break just 
beyond the borders of vision, the aspect changes and the 
reality becomes more wonderful than any trick of fancy or 
fiction." 

The use of the life-car involves more labor and difficulty, 
but is of great advantage when extreme haste is required 
and many are to be brought ashore. It is a covered boat 
of sheet iron into which six or seven persons ma}- be 
crowded at once. 

A philanthropic work was commenced by the ladies of 
America, in 1880, for supplying the stations with warm 
clothing and blankets, for those who might be rescued 
from a w^atery grave. Medals of honor, in gold and sil- 
ver, are awarded for extraordinary acts of heroism in sav- 
ing life. The area of the work yearly increases and 
recommendations for the increase of means should not be 
allowed to pass unheeded. There is not a department 
connected with the government, where money is disbursed, 
that brings any more satisfactory returns. 

The Life-Saving Stations in District No. i, comprising 
the states of Maine and New Hampshire, were opened for 
active service, Dec. ist, 1874. These were five in num- 
ber, situated as follows: West Quoddy Head, Cross Island, 
Crumple Island, Biddeford Pool, Me., and Locke's Point, 
N. H. Since that time two more have been added, one 
of them situated on Little Cranberrv Island, the other at 
White Head Island, Me. Thus it will be seen that six of 
these stations are situated on the very roughest parts of 
the coast of Maine, some of them on islands miles from 
the main land and far from any habitation. The stations 
were manned with crews consisting of a keeper, and six 
men, who went on dutv Dec. ist, and remained until Mav 



334- GLEAXIXGS FROM THE SEA. 

I St, following, making five months" active service. The 
keepers' salary was fixed at izvo hundred dollar's a year, 
and he was not only obliged to be at the station during 
active service, but to have full charge during the inactive 
season. The crews received a compensation for their ardu- 
ous task of forty dollars a month! These were, indeed, 
very small wages in comparison with the work required of 
them, and when we take into consideration the exposure 
b}- day and night thev met with, the storms and tempests 
they encountered, we almost wonder that men were to be 
had at this price, who were willing to risk their lives to 
save others. 

In 1878 the active season commenced Sept. ist, and 
continued eight months. The keepers' salarv at this time 
was raised to four hundred dollars a vear, while that of 
the crews continued as before. In March, 1882, the crews' 
pay was raised to forty-five dollars a month, and in June 
following, by an act of Congress, the pav of the crews was 
fixed at fifty dollars a month, and that of the keepers at 
seven hundred dollars a year. 

The crews of all stations in the district are chosen, as I 
have before stated, from shore fishermen and boat-men, 
men who are skilled in boating and who are not afraid of 
danger when the elements are at war, and they are all 
obliged to undergo a strict examination, physically, by a 
marine hospital surgeon, before being allowed to sign arti- 
cles. If they cannot pass the surgeon thev cannot enter 
the service, as it is imperative to have tough, hardv and 
sound men for this duty. The keepers must be men who 
are used to command, must have a fair education, as 
everything connected with the stations is directly under 
their charge, and they must render a strict account for all 
that transpires at their respective stations. 

That my readers may understand the dangers and hard- 
.ships that are encountered by the surfmen at different sta- 
tions, I will give them the account of the loss of the Kate 



THE LIFE-SAVIXG SERVICE. 335 

Upham, as taken from Hon. S. I. Kimball's (the General 
Superintendent's) report of 1881: 

" At 9 o'clock on the morning of October 23. iSSo, the weather being rainy, 
with occasional heavy hail and snow-squalls from the eastward, the two 
patrolmen on dutv from Station No. 3, (Crumple Island, Maine,) discovered 
a brig, afterwards found to be the Kate Upham. of St. John, Xew Brunswick, 
with eleven men on board, in an apparantly disabled condition, about three 
miles south-east from Red Head, the easterly point of the island on which the 
station stands. One of them immediately reported the fact to the station. 
Keeper Hall, with his crew, at once hurried out to the point named, 
and, after watching the vessel for a few moments, became satisfied that she 
was in trouble. No distress signals were set; the reason, as was afterward 
learned, being that the cabin was full of water and the flags could not be got 
at. As soon as possible keeper Hall hoisted a warning signal from the flag- 
staff on the Head, but received no answer from the vessel. He now saw that 
the spars and sails were gone, and lumber from her deck-load was floating in 
the water as she rapidly drifted toward the rocks in an apparently unmanage- 
able condition. The keeper and his men, finding their signals unanswered, 
endeavored to attract attention by waving their hats and coats in such a man- 
ner as to give the brig's crew to understand that they ought to use all possible 
efforts to head the vessel to the westward, toward the channel between the 
Crumples and Great Wass islands. These signals were soon discovered by 
the brig's crew, and they could be seen endeavoring to pay her off in the di- 
rection indicated. Satisfied that he was understood on board the vessel, the 
keeper directed his men to return to the station and run out the new surf-boat 
and then wait his further instructions; he remaining meanwhile to watch 
the movements of the brig. Observing that they had succeeded in heading 
her for the channel, he ran back to the station and found the boat outside 
the house in readiness for its perilous voyage. The crew had divested 
themselves of their heavy clothing and donned cork life-belts, in anticipa- 
tion of rough work. and. thus attired, they stood leaning on their boat, 
grimly watching the storm and sea, awaiting the order to start, their minds 
fully made up, as one said, -To save the brig's crew or go with them.' The 
keeper hastily put on his cork-belt, and then giving the word to launch, 
away they went and pulled for the channel. The wind was blowing with 
nearly the force of a hurricane, and although the depth of water in mid- 
channel is full five fathoms, the sea was breaking clear to the bottom. As 
the life-saving crew cleared the point of the island with the boat, thev saw 
the brig just entering the breakers in the channel, and coming like a race- 
horse, the seas breaking all over her — one, more heavy than the rest, rush- 
ing over her stern, as an eye witness said — 'Like a wall of water fully ten 
feet high, and smashing her two decks together.' The crew of the brig, 
eleven in all. two St. John pilots being of the number, with scared and anx- 
ious faces, watched the almost superhuman efforts of the surfmen to get to 
their assistance. The boat was gallantly pulled into the breakers and a 
close watch kept for a chance to approach the brig. Soon the vessel struck 



J.J.6 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

on a small sunken ledge and swung around. This gave the keeper an op- 
portunity, by watching the seas as they tumbled in, to pull up and allow the 
men on the brig to jump into the boat. 

The captain, in the excitement of the moment, missed the boat and fell 
o\erboad. He was speedily hauled in, and after a hard and exciting tussle 
with the sea and wind the entire number were rescued. It was afterward 
related that the captain of the brig, when he saw the life-saving crew delib- 
erately pulling out into the whirl of waters, exclaimed, 'Good God! what 
can that little white boat do.'' He in good time found out, and when, after 
an hour's hard pull, he and his men Avere safely landed on the island, they 
could not find words to express their gratitude to the crew of the station, 
nor to extol the 'little white boat,' which, under the management of brave 
men, had been the instrument of their rescue from a watery grave. They 
were sheltered at the station two days." 

A gentleman from Logansport, Indiana, who was visit- 
ing on one of the islands and witnessed the rescue, ad- 
dressed to Capt. J. M. Richardson, the district superin- 
tendent, the following letter. 

Logansport, Ind., November 4, 1S80. 

Dear Sir: — On the morning of the 23d ultimo, I witnessed an act of 
heroism on the part of Capt. Hall and his crew, of the Crumples life-saving 
station, which deserves especial mention. The English brig Kate Upham, 
was driven into the western bay, between Pond Point and the Crumples, 
during a fearful storm, and struck on a ledge near Fisherman's Island. She 
had lost her rudder, boats, and was otherwise injured. The brave crew of 
the life-saving station, with more courage than it required to face a battery, 
launched their surf-boat and went to the rescue. Standing on Beal's Island, 
looking through my glass, I had a good view of the surroundings. 

It seemed impossible for a boat to live in such a sea. "Tempest tossed" 
was no longer an imaginary picture. On every hand the sea was breaking, 
and the life-boat, with her noble crew, seemed but the sport of the angry 
waves; one moment hidden in the trough of the sea, the next borne rapidly 
on a vast comber toward the ill-fated brig. While I could but admire the 
spirit that prompted the daring men to risk their lives in the noble service, 
it seemed a suicidal attempt; for the chances were greatly against them. 
By almost superhuman efforts they reached the brig and saved the crew — 
eleven men. In my western home I learned something of the life-saving 
service, but never dreamed of its importance until I saAv it practically dem- 
onstrated a few days ago. The service commends itself to every lover of 
his race, and should receive the support of the people of all sections of the 
country. Will Congress render it more efficient by needed appropriations.' 

We cannot weigh life in the balance with dollars and cents. What better 

or easier way to expend a fair proportion of our revenue than in the cause 

of humanity.' Very respectfully, 

W. G. Nash. 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. j>j7 

Crumple Island, on which station No. 3 is located, is a 
little, rough, rocky island of about thirty acres, 6ight miles 
from the main land. The nearest point of land is Fisher- 
man's Island about a mile to the westward, and Great 
Wass Island, two miles to the eastward. On the upper 
end of Great Wass Island, about six miles from the sta- 
tion, live a few fishermen and their families. On the lower 
end is a camp used by Hon. W. G. Nash and others, who 
are occasionally down there looking after sheep that are 
pastured on the island. It was at the time of Mr. Nash's 
visit that the w^reck occurred. And it will readily be seen, 
that this crew were a long way from help, had any acci- 
dent happened to them. There were eight chances against 
them to two in their favor, and they knew full well that, if 
anything befel them, not only the eleven men on the brig, 
but they also, must perish, for there was no one but Mr. 
Nash nearer than five miles of them, with no way of being 
seen or heard. Mr. Nash afterwards stated that he 
thought the boat's crew crazy to start on so perilous an 
undertaking, for he expected to see them all drown before 
his eyes, and he said it seemed as though his heart 
stopped beating as he watched them pull deliberately into 
the open sea, in which he thought no boat could live. 
This was indeed a true act of bravery. And if those 
who are ever ready to find fault with this branch of 
service, could have been present, and witnessed this heroic 
act, they would forever hold their peace, and make no 
more unnecessary comments on the effectiveness of the life- 
savingr stations. 

By the kindness of J. M. Richardson, Superintendent of 
Life-Saving stations in District No. i, I am permitted to 
give my readers the account of the total loss of the barque 
Scotia, of Liverpool, England, and the rescue of the captain 
and crew, fifteen in number, by the use of the breeches- 
buoy. This account, which is from the keeper's journal, is 
in his own style of writing, and has never been published. 



jj<? GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

^ Quoddy-Head, Maine, 
{ Dec. 14, 1882. 

"J3uring the severe storm of this morning, T. C. Allen, one of the patrol- 
men on duty, discovered a barque just as she parted her chains, by the flash 
of a blue light which she was burning. The light burned long enough for 
him to see that it was a dismantled vessel and that she was driving towards 
the shore. He tried to burn a Coston light, but every one in his sack refused 
to burn. lie then ran to the station and called all hands. I ordered him to 
take. another sack, and go to the nearest point where he thought she would 
strike and burn a light, but got no answer. He could find no wreckage along 
the shore, so he thought he would travel to the east, and see if she had not 
struck in that direction. 

I arrived on the spot, found Allen's tracks going east, followed for a short 
distance and met him coming back withovit being able to discover the 
wreck. We put down our load, and went to the point where Allen first dis- 
covered the wreck, and after a few moments made her out about a mile 
farther to the west. We then shovildered our loads, carried them over the 
rocks, through the woods and gullies to the station. We then loaded the 
cart and dragged it to the wreck, just as the day began to dawn. We then 
o-ot our apparatus in position, loaded the gun, and the first shot fired went 
plump one hundred yards outside the wreck, the line falling right among 
the disti-'essed seamen. The whip line was soon on board, and the hawsers 
followed in quick succession. The breeches-buoy was then sent off, and 
two men returned in it. This operation was repeated five times, and ten 
men were landed. P'our men came on shore, one at a time, till all were 
safe-, but the captain did not appear to want to leave the vessel. I got into 
the breeches-buoy, and went out to the wreck and urged him to leave ; but 
he was bent on saving his nautical instruments, and I took the end of my 
shot line and went on shore. The captain soon followed. 

At I p. M., the wind changed, and we launched the life boat, went .out to 
the wreck, and saved all there was left of the captain's and crew's outfits. 
In landing, the boat struck a small rock and stove a hole in her bottom. I 
patched it with canvas, and thin board, and got a second load from the 
wreck before dark." 

The timely rescue of the crew of the barque Scotia, by 
the brave boys of Station No. i, should call forth the praise 
of all who are interested in the cause of humanity. 

The life-saving service is not properly understood. A 
notion has prevailed, with a great man^^ that the crews at 
the stations have nothing to do but to sit idly by, and wear 
away the long and tedious hours of winter in pleasurable 
pastime or with folded arms, regardless of those who may 
be in trouble from the angr}^ waves that dash upon our 
wintry coast. But this is not the case, and I can assure 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. j-j9 

my readers that, when the cold storms of rain, liail and 
snow, beat upon their dwelHngs, and w^hen the wind is 
howling and the very elements seem bent on destruction, 
the brave boys of the life-saving service are e\er watching 
for those who may be in peril. 

All the service rendered in District No. i, with one ex- 
ception, has been done with boats. And from the opening 
of the stations, on Dec. i, 1874, ^P ^o March, 1883, there 
have been services rendered to two hundred and sixty ves- 
sels, on which, including cargoes, there has been property 
imperiled to the amount of $2,562,582, and of this sum the 
seven stations have saved $1,149,552, or nearly one-half. 
Some of the stations, as I have said, are miles away from 
help of any kind ; others are off on islands, at the mouth 
of bays, where, if any accident should happen to boat and 
crew, it would be sometimes two or three days before anv 
one would find it out. In the meantime the men might 
drown, or drift to sea and die, and no help reach them 
until too late. Though some of the crew^s have had close 
work, fortunately no accident has happened. And of all 
the hundreds of lives imperiled, only three have been lost, 
two of them from the ship John Clark, miles aw^ay from 
any station, and one from schooner Zina, at the season 
when the stations were closed. The crews of the stations 
and the revenue cutter help each other man}^ times. When 
the cutter has close work to do, among the islands, to 
assist a vessel, the station crew nearest the point where 
assistance is needed is called upon, and they readily respond, 
for they are ever read}' to lend a helping hand to all 
wnthin their power. 

The following letter from Hon. S. I. Kimball, in reply 
to one touching the importance of more widely circulated 
reports of the life saving service, is timely, as w^ell as self- 
explanatory : 



340 GLEAXIXGS FROM THE SEA. 

TREASURY DEPARTMENT. 

Office of the General Superintendent U. S. Lifc-Saving Service. 

Washington, D. C, \ 
January 26, 1883. \ 

Joseph \V. Smith. Esq., 

Andover, Massachusetts. 

My Dear Sir : — I thank you cordially for your very kind letter of the 17th 
instant, expressive of so warm an interest in our little service, which is also 
a great service, as the little corporal was a great general. I am quite in 
accord with vou in desiring the work we are doing to be well and widely 
known, but this will come in time, and every year spreads more broadly and 
deeplv the knowledge of the labors and successes of the establishment. 
The repeated attempts of the Navy to have the service transferred to their 
control, is an evidence of its conspicuity, and an admission of its value. 
You are not in the way, probably, of seeing the public journals in masses, 
and from all parts of the country (as we do here in the office where we use 
so manv newspapers in culling reports of marine disasters,) or you would 
see how strongly and constantly the service is reported and eulogized. 
Hardlv a week passes in the inclement season when the press has not occa- 
sion to record — often to comment upon — the daring rescues of our crews. 
I think, in short, that things in these respects are pretty mvich as you would 
have them, although of course you meet many people who have but a dim 
apprehension of our broadcast doings, but this is unavoidable, knowledge 
always percolating slowly. 

I deeplv appreciate your friendliness to the service, of which you have 
alwavs given the fullest evidence, and I hope its work will ever be such as 
to justify your interest and sympathy. 

The printed letter in the Methuen Transcript on the life-saving service, 
bv Capt. W. F. Goldthwait, is admirable — perfectly appreciative of station 
work, and a word spoken in season, besides I thank you for letting me 
>-ee it. 

Our report this vear will be late — unavoidably so, bvit when you receive 
it. vou will see that we maintain our supremacy as life-savers. 

With renewed thanks for your letter, 

Sincerely yours, 

S. I. Kimball, 
General Superintendent. . 

I append the letter of Capt. W. F. Goldthwait, com- 
mended bv Superintendent Kimball. The captain is a 
soundlv practical man, fullv acquainted with the service, 
and his opinions carry with them great weight: 
the life-saving stations. 
Editor Methuen Transcript : — There is some little stir in Congress to have 
the Life-Saving Stations put under the control of the Navy Department, 
and to those who have never given this subject a thought it may be well to 



THE LTFE-SAVIXG SERVICE. 341 

call their attention to a few facts in regard to the operations of this branch 
of service. The Life-Saving Service, as now carried on by government, 
was commenced a few vears ago under many difficulties. Scattering Sta- 
tions were built along the shores in places supposed to be the most danger- 
ous to navigation, manned by the best men that could be had, and in nearly 
every instance these men have displayed so much skill, and proved them- 
selves in such manner, that it has called forth the praise of all those who 
have seen the great benefits derived from it. The result of this has been 
that the number of Stations have been largely increased on our seaboard, 
and many have been erected on the Lake shores. This has been brought 
about by the untiring zeal of a few persons, although there is not a ship- 
owner in this or any other country, nor a man that follows the sea, nor 
those who have friends that do business on the "mighty deep,"' nor who are 
in anv wav connected with our shipping interests, but know and acknowl- 
edge the fact that the Life-Saving Service has done a great good in saving 
life and property. But when these facts are known, and Congress has been 
asked to make appropriations to increase the facilities for saving the lives 
of those who have been driven on shore and shipwrecked, and to alleviate 
the sufferings of seamen who have been cast away and lost everything, we 
are sorry to say, but it is nevertheless true, that only a few of the many 
that we send to Congress have taken an active part in this matter. And 
here permit me to give the condensed yearly report of Mr. Kimball, Gen- 
eral Superintendent of Life-Saving Stations, for iSSi, which I hope will be 
read with interest and care. 
The report says: 

" The number of disasters to documented vessels within the field of Sta- 
tion operations during the year was 2S7. There were 2,268 persons on 
board these vessels of whom 2,256 were saved and only twelve were lost. 
The number of shipwrecked who required succor was 450, and to those 
1,334 days' relief in the aggregate was afforded. The estimated value of 
the vessels involved in these disasters was S3.265.S30 and that of their car- 
goes $1,492,062 making the total value of property imperiled $4,757,892, of 
this amount $3,109,537 was saved and $1,648,355 lost. 

The number of disasters involving the total destruction of vessels was 
sixty-seven. In addition to the foregoing there have been fifty-eight in- 
stances of disasters to small craft as sail-boats, row-boats, etc., on which 
were one hundred and twenty-eight persons, all of whom were saved. The 
property involved in the lattar disasters was $7,870 of which $6,470 was 
saved and $1,400 lost. The results of all the disasters in the scope of the 
service aggregate therefore as follows: 

Total number of disasters, 345. 

Value of property involved, $4,765,762. 

Value of property saved, $3,106,007. 

Value of property lost, $1,654,755. 

Number of persons involved, -096. 

Number of persons saved, -.384- 

There were thirty-nine persons rescued in addition to those saved from 
vessels (they having fallen from wharves, piers, etc.) who would certainly 
have been drowned but for the assistance rendered by Life-Saving crews. 
The investigations held in each case show that the twelve persons lo>t 
during the year were entirely beyond the reach of human aid. Although 

43 



:;^2 GLEAXIXGS FROM THE SEA. 

there were fortv-four more disasters than during anv previous vear since 
the general extension of the service, the loss of life is smaller with one ex- 
ception than that of any vear preceeding. 

The assistance rendered in saving vessels and cargoes has been very 
sjreat this vear, 298 vessels having been worked off when stranded, piloted 
out of dangerous places, repaired when damaged, or assisted in similar ways 
bv the Station crews. There were besides seventy-six instances when ves- 
sels running into danger of stranding were warned oS by the night signals 
of the patrol and thus probably saving most of them from partial loss or 
destruction." 

It has been said that facts are stubborn things and that figures don't lie, 
and here we have them right before us. Let them be looked over care- 
fullv. Don't lay them aside and give to this subject but a passing thought. 
Read them over until you thoroughly understand the great blessings de- 
rived from this branch of service. The lives of nearly 2,500 persons have 
been placed in jeopardy and all but twelve saved, during the year, and this by 
the brave and heroic men that man the stations, and in many cases under 
the most trving dilBculties. Numerous are the instances where they have 
risked their lives to rescue those who were in peril, and no time have we 
heard that thev shrank from their duty on any occasion. Yet we are com- 
pelled to sav that they have not always the full co-operation and sympathy 
of the people in the neighborhood of wrecks and disasters. This has arisen 
out of pettv jealousies and feeling towards the men, they being in the em- 
plov of the government which calls for the best men that can possibly be had, 
and this leaves a chance for some one to find fault, but let us hope the day is 
not far distant when this fault-finding, which we think has cost some noble 
lives, will cease, and the full, hearty sympathy of all will be enlisted in this 
work. But we must not forget the men who have nobly volunteered, with- 
out thought of pay or emolument, and have even risked their lives while 
assisting the keepers and crews of stations to save the lives of others. They 
deserve crreat praise, indeed, we cannot say too much for them, and they 
richlv merit the heartiest commendation of all. For, while they do not act 
in an otficial capacity, it shows that their hearts are open to those who are 
determined, and they are ready at all times to do all they can to help others 
who may be in trouble. 

For those who have never seen old ocean lashed into fury by the terrible 
>torms of winter, and who know nothing of the hardships and dangers the 
surfmen encounter, I will append an extract from Superintendent Kimball's 
report: 

" It is perhaps well known, but probably feebly realized that for eight 
months of the year the patrols of the Life-Saving Service keep watch upon 
the ocean beaches from sunset to dawn, in other words, that for hundreds 
of miles of dark coast beaten by incessant breakers every night and all 
night long while others sleep, a line of solitary men march and counter- 
march to and from each other with eyes that ransack the offing for ships in 
peril. The wav is long, dreary, obscure, lonesome, sinister, difficult, peril- 
ous. It lies along a waste of foot-detaining sand, whereon to walk is to 
trudge laboriously, frequently ankle deep, at times to stumble over stones, 
or wreck-wood washed up by the sea. or to sink suddenly in spots of quick- 
sand, often the surf shoots seething across the path, or the sentinel wades 
knee-deep and even hip-deep across inlets which traverse the beach into 



THE LIFE-SAVIXG SERVICE. S4S 

the bars bevond. or cuts -which trench through into the sand hills. The fit- 
ful lights and shadows of a lantern alone mark the sombre wav. Winter 
and rough weather are the companions of the journey. All natural vicissi- 
tudes, all hardships, all exposures known between the autumnal and vernal 
equinoxes, bitter cold, rain in torrents, cutting sleeL blinding flights of sand 
and sprav. tides that flood the very dunes behind the beaches, the terrible 
snow storm, the suffocating blasts of the hurricane. There is a case where 
a man perished in one of these heroic marches. In several instances men 
have been found fallen and nearly dead by the comrades whom their long 
absence from the station has sent out in alarmed quest of them. In still 
others there have been accidents involving broken limbs to the noctumai 
journeyers. There is no case where their patrollings are less than irksome 
and toilsome and they are often hazardous and sometimes fatal. But the 
dutv is necessary in interest of seafarers and nothing so much as this stern 
and noble watch upon the beaches has contributed to the success of the 
Life-Saving Service, because its performance involves the early discoverv 
of vessels driven ashore, and the opportunity to rescue their crews before 
the surf can destroy them. On the other hand, no duty could make higher 
demands upon the moral nature of the patrolman, for Avhat task can offer 
stronger temptations for shirking than this gloomy and dangerous tramp, 
undertaken from a warm station, away from the snug rest of a comfortable 
bed. into the awful solitude of the winter beaches, perhaps on nights when 
tempest makes the heavens and the earth tremble.- The very companion- 
lessness of the patrol, which strengthens the temptation to evade dutv. 
offers also ready facilities for doing so, and considerable trouble has been 
given at times both to the Life-Saving crews and the oflicers of the service 
bv accusations of unfaithfulness against the patrolman brought bv active 
members of the coast population. It is due to the life-saving watch to say 
that while in a few cases these charges have almost universally been kept 
with perfect fidelity, a fact fully established by the record of the prompt 
discoverv of wrecks in nearlv every instance, and the swiftness with which 
in so many cases the rescues have followed stranding, and this fact, remem- 
bering that the dutv with all its involved demands upon the fortitude, the 
loyaltv, and the intrepidity of the individual, has been performed under no 
task-masters eye, is not only in the highest degree creditable to the crews 
engaged, but an honor to human nature."" 

To the casual reader this may seem to be overdrawn. But he can be as- 
sured that it is no mere flight of the imagination, or a fancy picture of Mr. 
Kimball's gotten up for effect. It is simply a plain, truthful statement of the 
hardships and dangers the surfmen undergo, to which hundreds of men who 
live on our sea-coast can testify. These are not all the discomforts that these 
brave, heroic and self-denying men meet with. Two-thirds of the mem- 
bers of this station have families, and many of them are compelled, bv 
the long storms of winter and the rough weather that follows these storms 
to be away from their hoines for weeks and even months at a time ; and it is 
only during pleasant weather that they can get leave of absence. At no time, 
except in cases of sickness or death, are tAvo allowed to be absent on the same 
day, and then only for a few hours. And do we realize, as we sit by our fire- 
sides, these cold winter nights, while the storm is raging without, with every- 
thing to make us comfortable and happy, — surrounded by those we love and 
hold so dear. — that brave and noble men, isolated from their families, are 
constantly on the watch, day and night, braving all dangers, exposed to the 
fiercest blasts of wintry winds, A\atching with vigilance and fidelity, and 
alwavs true to the trust confided to them.- To us that have friends out unon 



344 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

the troubled waters, when storm comes up, who are tossed up and down by 
the winds and waves, driven on a lee and rocky shore into the very jaws of 
death, the elements seemingly bent on their destruction — when hope gives 
way to despair and a watery grave stares them in the face, — it is good to know 
that brave and true men stand ready to take their lives in their hands and 
launch forth to the rescue. 

Then, how shall we express our gratitude for these brave unselfish men? 
Language is inadequate. But we are glad to know that while they keep 
guard through the lonely hours of night, kind friends think of them, and 
have done much to while away the weary hours, when off duty, with gener- 
ous donations of reading matter; even whole libraries have found their way 
into the stations, contributed by men, and women too, whose hearts are 
always open to the wants of humanity. 

As for the change that is talked of, it matters little, we opine, whether the 
Life-Saving Service is under the control of the naval or treasury department, 
as long as it is kept up to the high standard of its present management. It 
would make no difference to us who pulled us out of the water if we were 
saved from drowning, nor who piloted our ship off a lee shore if we found a 
safe harbor. The great question is, will it be any better; and if we see no 
chance for it to be more effectual, is it not better as it is.? We believe that at 
present it is in good hands. The men who are at the head of this department, 
have worked laboriously, zealously and faithfully, and they deserve great 
credit for bringing this service so near perfection. They have shown good 
judgment in selecting district superintendents, and these have been very 
careful to get nothing but the best men possible for keepers and crews. And 
when we look at it in the true light, laying aside all prejudice, if we have any, 
viewing it from the high stand-point of humanity, I think that the verdict 
will be, well as it is; and it were better to leave well enough alone. 

W. F. G. 



It has . been my good fortune to find an ample illustrated 
account of the " United States Life-Saving Service," in 
Scribner's Monthly for January, 1880, three years previous 
to the date of my book, but containing matter so entirely 
relevant, in the main, to the subject as it stands to-day, 
that I gladly introduce it, even though, in some respects, it 
may repeat descriptions given in the other pages. Such 
repetition, however, is merely the result of a view of the 
same subject from different points, and tends to impress it 
more con^'incingly. Therefore I make no apology for it, 
nor for the matter of the date of publication of the article, 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



345 



as it is so admirably adapted to my use in illustrating the 
means and modes in practice to-day. Such improvements 
as have been made since the article was written are alluded 
to elsewhere, but in all essential features the service re- 
mains the same as then. 




S4t) GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



UNITED STATES LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



BY J. H. MERRYMAN, IN SCRIBNER S MONTHLY. 



IN the principal newspapers of commercial cities there may 
be seen, under the caption of "Marine Intelligence," or 
some such title, a column made up of items, set in non- 
pareil type, like the following, cut from a recent journal: 

Bark Halycon (of Bath), Dickinson, from Boston for Perth Ambov, in bal- 
last, went ashore on Long Beach, LI, A M of Sept. 4. All hands were 
taken off by the crew of Life-Saving Station No. 32. 

Has the reader any idea of the stirring drama a dry 
paragraph like this may conceal ? Let us endeavor to 
make it apparent. 

No portion of the ten thousand and more miles of the 
sea and lake coast line of the United States, extending 
through every variety of climate and containing every fea- 
ture of coast danger to the mariner, can exhibit a more 
terrible record of shipwreck than the long stretch of sandy 
beaches lying between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras. Of 
this region the New Jersey coast is notoriously the worst. 
It has been said that if all the skeletons of vessels lying 
upon or imbeded in the sand between Sandy Hook and. 
Barnegat could be ranged in line, the ghastly array would 
reach from one point to the other. Here in 1848, the 
government placed a few rude huts that formed the 
nucleus from which the United States Life-Saving Service 
has been developed. These were intended to afford shelter 
to distressed mariners and to contain boats and such other 
Hfe-saving appliances as were then known, volunteers from 
among the fishermen being relied upon to use them on 
occasions of shipwreck. And right gallantly, in many 
instances, did the brave beachmen respond, though their 
undertakings and deeds remain mostly unwritten, existing 
chiefly in the legends of the coast. Congress continued 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



347 



small appropriations from time to time, until Long Island 
was also provided with huts, and a small increase was 
made to the number on the coast of New Jersey. But 
from lack of proper direction and want of system the 
movement languished and subsided. In the meantime, the 
Royal National Life-boat Institution, a society started in 
Great Britain under royal patronage nearly fort}^ years 
prior to our own attempt, had gone on improving its 
methods and extending its means, and the people of other 
maritime nations were developing similar humane projects. 
The hour and the man at length came for our own institution. 
In 1871, Mr. Sum- 
ner I. Kimball, the 
present able Super- 
intendent, effected 
the organization and 
introduced the ex- 
isting s^-^stem. 





There are now upon the sea and lake coasts nearlv two 
hundred life-saving stations, the greater number being 
established at the more dangerous and exposed points. The 
buildings are plain, yet picturesque, and similar in general 
dimensions and arrangement, though varying somewhat in 
outward design, according to location — those near cities or 
popular watering-places being in keeping with their sur- 



348 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

roundings and presenting a more finished appearance than 
those on desolate beaches. Those located in harbors or at 
inlets are each provided with an annex containing a self- 
righting and self-baiHng life-boat, which cannot be launched 
from a flat beach on account of its great weight and huge 
size, objections which are unavoidable in securing the valu- 
able qualities that distinguish it. 

The main building has, below, a boat-room and a mess- 
room, or kitchen, each provided with convenient closets and 
lockers, and, above, two sleeping apartments and a store- 
room. The boat-room contains the surf-boat, which is 
used on flat beaches and in shoal waters. It is mounted 
on a light carriage, which ma}' be drawn by the crew 
when draught animals are not available, unfortunately too 
often the case on remote outlying beaches. Within the 
same room also stands the mortar-cart, loaded with the 
wreck ordnance, lines, and various implements, while prop- 
erly bestowed throughout the apartment are various arti- 
cles, most of which will come under our notice in the 
operations to be described. The kitchen and sleeping 
rooms are sparingly provided with appropriate furniture, 
while the store-room is used for the stowage of the sea- 
son's provisions, cordage, spare oars, etc. Here the keeper 
and crew live during the active season, which varies 
according to the latitude of the districts into which the 
coast is divided. 

The keeper commands the crew of six surfmen. His 
position is one of grave responsibility, demanding long 
experience in his vocation and rare judgment in the execu- 
tion of his important trusts. The selection of his men, 
upon whose fidelity and skill depend not only his success, 
but oftentimes his life, as well as the fate of those whom 
he is expected to succor, is very properly confided solely 
to him. 

Both keeper and men are chosen from among the fish- 
ermen in the vicinity of the stations, who are most distin- 



THE lAFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



349 



guished for their ability as surfmen. Drawing their first 
breath within sound of the surf, they pass through child- 
hood viewing the sea in all its moods. In early youth 
they make their first essay in the breakers, and from that 
on to manhood advance from the least important oar 
through regular graduations, until the most skillful reach 
the command of the boat. This life gives them familiarity 
with the portion of the beach upon which they dwell, and 




DRILL AND EXERCISE IN THE SURF-BOAT. 

its bordering currents, eddies, and bars, and an intimate 
a:quaintance with habits of the surf. It is an erroneous 
notion that the experience of the sailor qualifies him for a 
surf-boatman. The sailor's home is at sea. He gives the 
land a wide berth, and is never at ease except with a good 
ofiing. He is rarely called upon to ply an oar in a small 
boat, particularl}' in a high surf, and his vocation gives 
h'm little knowledge of the surfman's realm, which is the 
beach and a portion of the sea extending but little beyond 



jjo GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

the breakers. The number of mariners who are annually 
lost in attempting to land from stranded vessels through 
the surf in their own boats, sorrowfully attests this fact. 
On the other hand, the most expert surfman may not be, 
and often is not, a sailor, though generally he has an ex- 
cellent knowledge of every part of a ship and her apparel, 
gained in his occupation of stripping wrecks. 

The training of the surfmen as life-saving men is com- 
pleted by officers of the Revenue Marine, whose own pro- 
fessional training, familiarity with the coast (acquired in 
their cruises along shore for the prevention of smuggling), 
and experience in assisting vessels in distress, especially 
qualify them for the duty. 

The life of the station surfmen is rather a monotonous, 
though not an idle, one. Each day has its portion of drill 
and exercise in the various methods employed in rendering 
aid to the shipwrecked, and considerable of the spare time 
of the men is occupied in keeping the building and appa- 
ratus in repair, and in making improvements around the 
station. At night their duties become severe and often 
perilous. The interval from sunset to sunrise is divided 
into three watches. At the beginning of each watch two 
men set out from the station on patrol duty, and follow 
their beats to the right and left respectively, until they 
meet the patrolmen from the adjacent stations, with whom 
they exchange certain tokens as proof to the keepers in 
the morning of the faithful performance of the duty. The 
relieving watches keep up this scrutiny until sunrise, and, 
if the weather be foul, throughout the day. The meeting 
and exchange of tokens is required, of course, only upon 
continuous beaches, or uninterrupted stretches of coast, 
where the stations average a distance of from three to five 
miles apart. At isolated stations the limits of the patrol are 
fixed by specific boundaries. Watching the beach is of cardi- 
nal importance, and neglect of the duty is punished by ban- 
ishment from service and prohibition of future employment. 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. jji 

The beach guardians are no idle promenaders. A 
march of four or rive miles through the soft sea-sand is a 
task at any time ; what is it in the fury of a winter 
storm? The prevalent strong winds, which must be en- 
countered in one direction or the other of the beat, drive 
before them rain, snow, hail, and sleet, or oftener sharp 
sand, which cuts the face until, smarting with pain, the 
patrolman turns and walks backward for relief. Such is 
the force of this natural sand-blast that it soon dulls the 
glass of the patrol lanterns, and at some of the more ex- 
posed stations has made ground-glass of the window-panes. 
In a snow-storm the ocean beach is the wildest of pathless 
deserts, and even by da3dight, shut out from prominent 
landmarks, the foam of the breaking surf alone serves to 
guide the panting patrolman on his way. Leaving it, he 
would wander helplessly among the sand-dunes that crown 
the beach. When the darkness of night is added, and his 
lantern, if not extinguished by the gale, but feebly lights 
his path through the slush of snow and sand, he strays 
and stumbles into pitfalls and quick-sands, to recover his 
way and accomplish his journey only through his life-long 
acquaintance with ever}^ foot of the ground. Sometimes, 
faihng in this, benumbed with cold and bewildered by his 
mishaps, he is found by his comrades in the snow insensi- 
ble, or perhaps dead. Then there come, fortunately not 
often, the blast of the hurricane and the inundation of 
the tidal wave, pregnant with terrors indescribable. These 
are the tornadoes which, inland, uproot trees, unroof and 
prostrate buildings, destroy flocks and herds, and create 
general havoc. On the beach the stations are sometimes 
torn from their strong foundation-posts and overset and 
borne away by the flood, the inmates escaping as best they 
can. The patrolman cannot stand up against the fury. 
Again and again he is overthrown as he struggles to 
reach the top of a sand-hill, his only refuge from the 
waters which rush upon the land and sweep through the 



352 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



depressions between the hillocks, separating them into islets. 
In the memorable tempest of October 22 and 23, 1878, the 
patrolmen suffered severely, and several were in extreme 
peril. In one instance, a patrolman not returning in the 
morning, and his fellows not being able to discover him 
with their glasses from the look-out of the station, a boat 
expedition was sent in search of him among the still 
flooded sand-hills, upon one of which, nearly covered with 
water, he was at length found, barely alive. 

When a vessel is driven ashore in a storm, the patrol- 




LAUNCHING THE SURF-BOAT. 



man, being the first to discover her, takes the initiative 
steps in the operations for the rescue. He carries at night, 
besides his lantern, a signal, which ignited by percussion 
emits a red iiame. He is quick to observe the slightest 
indication of a disaster; the glimmer of a light, the white 
apparition of a sail, the faint outline of a slender spar just 
beyond the breakers, or at his feet on the strand perhaps 
a grating, a bucket, or some other article which he knows 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



"tSJ 




THE XIGHT PATROL. 



to have come from the ship. Then with all his faculties 
bent to the search, he descries a vessel either too close in 
for safety or actually stranded in the breakers, hi either 
case he burns his signal, whose crimson light flashes far 
out to sea, and warns the unwary ship to stand off, or 



354 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



assures the shipwrecked that aid is near at hand. Being 
certain it is a wreck, he hurries to his station, perhaps a 
mile or two away. His hasty entrance is sufficient to 
arouse the slumbering inmates. Struggling for breath he 
makes his report, the nature of which determines to the 
keeper the means to be emplo3'ed for the rescue. If the 
surf-boat is to be taken, at the word of command the 
wide doors of the boat-room are thrown open and the 
boat-carriage drawn by willing hands rolls out bearing the 
graceful craft fully equipped for service. In the absence of 
horses, the burden must be hauled by the men, and their 
laborious task may be conceived, when it is stated that 
each man must drag nearly one hundred and eighty 
pounds through soft, yielding sand, whatever the distance 
may be between the station and the wreck, while one hun- 
dred and fifty pounds is the estimated load for a man to 
draw over a level turnpike. 

Arrived at the scene of the disaster, the boat is launched 
with as little delay as possible from a point opposite the 
wreck, in order to get the benefit of the slight breakwater 
which the position of the vessel affords, and is soon off 
and away on its errand of mercy. The height of human 
skill is required of the keeper, standing at the steering oar, 
to guide the boat safely m its passage through the wild 
running breakers. The surfmen, with their backs to the 
dangers lurking in the treacherous seas, do not go blindly 
to uncertain fate, for they rest their eyes continuously upon 
the keeper, while they ply their oars in obedience to his 
commands, and mark his slighest gesture. Their first 
attempt is not always successful. Despite every care, a 
suddenly leaping sea may break, and fill the boat, compel- 
ling a return to the shore, or capsize her, tumbling the 
men into the water, where they are tossed about in the 
surf, but are sustained by their cork life-belts until, making 
a foothold, they struggle to the beach, and righting the boat 
try again and perhaps a third or fourth time, before finally 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 355 

reaching the wreck. Here the most careful manoeuvring 
is necessary to prevent collision of their light craft against 
the huge hull of the stranded vessel, or to avoid fatal in- 
jury from falling spars and floating wreckage. Taking off 
as best they can the anxious people, whom the overwhelm- 
ing seas have driven into the rigging of the vessel, per- 
haps fast going to pieces, the difficult return to the shore 
remains before them. The keeper must now decide upon 
one of the several methods of landing, as the nature of the 
sea may demand. Under favorable conditions he may run 
in immediately behind a roller, and by quick work keep 
well ahead of the following one, and so reach the beach in 
safety. With a different sea he may back in, occasionally 
pulling ahead to meet an incoming breaker; and again, for 
a worse sea he may use a drag to check the headway 
with which a swift rolling comber would otherwise carry 
the boat high upon its summit until a portion of the keel 
would be out of water, the bow high in the air and the 
stern still resting upon the crest, — from which position, on 
account of the slight hold the boat has in the water, the 
sea behind is liable, in spite of the efforts of the steersman, 
to turn it to the right or left, causing it to "broach to" 
and capsize, or if this be avoided, perhaps to be " pitch- 
poled," end over end. 

When the patrolman has reported at the station that the 
boat cannot be used, the mortar-cart is ordered out. Like 
the boat-carriage it must be drawn by the men, and though 
the load is somewhat hghter, the state of the sea or the 
weather increases the labor; the one compelhng them to 
take a route close to the low sand-hills in the wash and 
foam of the spent breakers, or back of the hills in the 
looser sand by a circuitous course, and the other harassing 
and retarding them with its fury. Reaching at length 
their destination, each man, well trained in his duties, pro- 
ceeds to handle and place in position the portion of the 
apparatus assigned to his special charge. Simultaneously 



S5(> 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



the different members of the crew load the gun, place the 
shot-line box in position, dispose the hauling lines and 
hawser for running, attach the breeches-buoy, put the 
tackles in place ready for hauling, and with pick and 
spade begin the digging of a trench for the sand-anchor, 
while the beach lantern lights up the scene. 

And now the gun is fired! The shot with its line goes 

flying against the 
gale, over the wreck 
into the sea beyond; 
the line falls across a 
friendly spar or rope, 
and is soon seized by 
the eager benumbed 
hands of the imperiled 
sailors, whose glad 
shouts, faintly heard 
on shore, make 
known to the life- 
savers their- success. 
The surfmen connect 
the whip (an endless 
line), the tail-block 
and tally-board to 
the shot-line already 
being hauled in by 
the impatient sailors. 
The whip ■ passes 
rapidl}' toward the 
BiKMNtT A Mi.NAL. wrcck, aud arriving 

there the sailors make fast the tail-block in accord- 
ance with the directions on the tally-board and show 
a signal to the shore. Hauling upon one part of the 
whip, the surfmen then send on board, attached to the 
other part, the hawser and a second tally-board, which 
directs how and where the end of the hawser should be 




THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 357 

secured to the wreck. The tackles now connecting the 
sand-anchor and the shore end of the hawser are hauled 
upon until the hawser is straight and taut, when it is lifted 
several feet in the air, and further tightened by the erec- 
tion of a wooden crotch, which constitutes a temporary 
pier while the wreck answers for another, and the hawser 
stretched between the two suggests a suspension bridge in 
an early stage of construction with but one cable in place. 
The breeches-buoy is drawn to and fro upon the hawser, 
and by means of it the shipwrecked are brought safely to 
shore. 

This method is expeditious when once well in operation, 
but is frequently attended with difficulties which evoke 
every resource and expedient. Often in storms a strong 
swift current runs along the coast between the outer bar 
and the shore, called by the surfmen the "set" or "cut," 
which, in connection with the action of the surf, twists and 
entangles the lines, as the attempt is made to haul them 
across from shore to ship, or sweeps them away to a 
great distance, causing heavy strains that sometimes prove 
too much for their strength. Occasionally, when the appa- 
ratus is well set up for use, the motion of the wreck, as 
it is lifted and rolled about by the powerful seas, is so 
violent and constant that, even with the most watchful 
care, the strong lines snap and break asunder like pack- 
thread; and at times the careless or bungling manner in 
which those on board perform their part, allowing the 
shot-line or whip to saw across the stiff rigging of the 
vessel, or chafe against other portions of the wreck until it 
parts, hinders the work or altogether prevents success. 
Now and then, in extreme cold weather, the lines become 
rigid and clogged with ice as soon as they are exposed to 
the air when lifted out of the water; and again, unless 
proper care has been observed in the arrangement of the 
blocks and lines, the velocity with which the freighted 
ropes run through the blocks, may set on fire the wooden 




..^■„.A. A:s^s^^-s!s,.^^.i^jsrifrmBiikkmiiapas tS ^ 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. j^g 

shells or cases that contain the sheaves or pulley-wheels. 
These mishaps and reverses tax the patience and resources 
of the surfmen to the utmost, and often put their courage 
to the severest test. The breaking of the lines involves 
the toil and delay of the duplication of their work, and 
perhaps the anxious suspense necessitated by a return to 
the station for spare lines. Sometimes it is found neces- 
sary to abandon altogether the use of the hawser, and to 
draw the people ashore through the water with the whip 
and breeches-buoy, or even without the latter, the ship- 
wrecked persons securing themselves into the whip by 
tying it around their bodies. In some of these contingen- 
cies people have been held suspended in the breakers or 
ensnarled in the floating cordage and debris of the vessel, 
and only extricated from their perilous positions by the 
most daring exploits of the surfmen, who have worked 
themselves out through the surf, and, at the most imminent 
risk of their own lives, released the helpless beings from 
their bonds, or disentangled them by severing the meshes 
with their knives, and returned, bearing their gasping tro- 
phies safely to the shore. 

Other accidents and obstacles are likely to embarass the 
efforts of the life-saving crews, who usually arrive at the 
scene of disaster exhausted by their wearisome march. 

The breeches-buoy, although it is an exceedingly useful 
contrivance for bringing men ashore, is hardly a suitable 
one for transporting women and children, or for rescuing a 
large number of persons with dispatch, or invalids whom it 
is necessary to protect from wet and exposure. In such 
cases the life-car is usually brought into requisition and 
used with the arrangement of ropes already described; or, 
as externally it is simply a covered boat, under favorable 
circumstances it may be drawn back and forth through the 
water by a line attached to each end. More frequently, 
however, it is connected with the hawser by a simple de- 
vice, in such a manner as to permit it to float upon the 



s6o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

water, while preventing it from drifting, in strong currents, 
too far from a direct course for the length of the hauhng 
lines. The life-car is about two hundred pounds heavier 
than the breeches-buoy, and accordingly increases to that 
extent the burden of apparatus to be brought to the scene 
of a wreck; but it has sufficient capacity for five or six 
adults, and has carried, at a single trip, nine half-grown 
children. Practically water-tight, but provided with means 
for supplying air, its passengers are landed high and dry 
and without serious discomfort. The occasions of its use 
have been numerous, and in one notable instance — the 
wreck of the Ayreshire below Squan Beach, on the coast 
of New Jersey — two hundred and one persons were res- 
cued by it, when no other means could have availed. 
Silks, fine fabrics, jewelry, and other valuable goods have 
often been saved by its use, and from one vessel the car 
took ashore a large sum in gold bullion, belonging to the 
United States, together with the mails. 

The general features of the Lake and Pacific coast ad- 
mit of the use of the self-righting and self-bailing life-boat. 
On the Lakes the stations are situated, with few excep- 
tions, at, or very near, commercial towns, or cities having 
artificial harbors. These harbors are formed at the mouths 
of rivers by long piers projecting some distance into the 
lake. The passages between the piers are quite narrow 
and difficult to enter when high seas are running at right 
angles to them; thus vessels in attempting to go in are 
frequently thrown out of their course at the critical mo- 
ment, and are cast upon the end of the pier to quick 
destruction, or, escaping that danger, are driven ashore 
outside. Here the self-righting and self-bailing life-boat is 
used with good effect. This marvellous product of inven- 
tive thought, which has been developed by a century of 
study and experiment, from the first model, designed by 
the English coach-maker, Lionel Lukin, in 1780, is the 
best life-boat yet devised. It has great stability, and is 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



361 



with difficulty upset, but when this happens, it instantly 
rights itself, and when full of water empties itself in from 
fifteen to twenty seconds. The attainment of the first of 
these wonderful qualities is secured by means of a heavy 
iron keel, weighing from six hundred to fifteen hundred 
pounds, according to the size of the boat, and two large 
air-chambers placed in the bow and stern — the keel, when 
the boat is capsized, being 
drawn by the force of 
gravitation back toward 
and into the water, while 
the submerged air-cham- 
bers seek the surface at 
the same moment. The 
property of self-bailing is 
produced by the insertion 
of a deck or floor, some 
inches above the load- 
line, in which there are 
placed several tubes ex- 
tending down through the 
bottom of the boat, fitted 
with valves at the top, 
which open downward by 
the pressure of any water 
in the boat, and are self- 
closing when the press- 
ure ceases. The draugrht 
and great weight which the construction of such a boat 
involves — the smallest weighs scarcely less than four 
thousand pounds — generally precludes its use, as has been 
stated, along the sand}'^ flat beaches of the Atlantic. The 
Lake stations being inside the harbors and fronting directly 
upon, or over comparatively smooth and sufficiently deep 
water, the heavy boats launched directly from their ways, 
are propelled by eight oars, or towed by a tug-boat out 




SURFiMAN WITH LIFE-BELT. 



362 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

between the piers to the rescue. Not unfrequently, just 
before navigation is suspended by winter on the Lakes, a 
single life-saving crew is employed upon several vessels at 
a time. Recently four wrecks occupied half a station crew 
in the vicinity of their station on the same day, while the 
remainder were at work on a fifth, forty miles away, 
whither they had been transported by rail, on a special 
train secured for the occasion. It is a common occurrence 
for the life-boats to go under sail and oars ten or twelve 
miles from their stations to the assistance of vessels in dis- 
tress. On the Pacific coast, where the prevailing gales 
blow along and not upon the shore, and where there are 
few outlying dangers, and these at long intervals apart, 
coast disasters are comparatively rare, and it has been 
deemed necessary to provide for the establishment of but 
eight stations. With one exception, these are at points 
where the self-righting and self-bailing life-boat is available. 
But the work of the crews does not always end with 
the rescue. The pressing necessities of the moment admin- 
istered to, the sufferers are led, supported, or carried, as 
their condition will admit, to the station, which is quickly 
transformed into a hospital. The neglected fire is replen- 
ished with fuel; the kitchen stove soon glows with heat; 
the plethoric clothes-bags and well-filled chests of the surf- 
men are opened, and dry clothing is put upon all that 
need it; snow and cold water, and afterward scrapings of 
raw potatoes from the mess stores, are applied to the 
frost-bitten; the prostrated are put to bed in the extra cots 
provided in the upper rooms, and tenderly tucked in by 
rough hands, suddenly grown gentle; the medicine chest, 
filled with simple remedies and restoratives, is opened, and 
stimulants dispensed to the exhausted, while plasters, lint, 
and bandages are applied to those who have been bruised 
and wounded by the wreckage. Meanwhile, shipwrecked 
and surf men are inhaling the delicious aroma of boiling 
coffee, which the mess-cook deems it his first duty to pre- 



THE life-saving SERVICE. 



363 



pare. This having been partaken of, the keeper designates 
the least weary of the crew to attend to the wants of the 
strangers, while the others retire for rest until required to 
relieve the watch. 

Occasionally, in the exigencies of ship-wreck, persons 
reach the shore senseless and seemingly without life. That 
the surfmen may be able to act intelligently in such cases, 
the regulations of the service contain plain directions for 




FIRING THE MORTAR. 



the application of a simple method for restoring the appar- 
ently drowned, in which the men are regularly practiced, 
according to the instructions of a medical officer of the 
Marine Hospital Service, who visits the stations once a 
3^ear as a member of the board for the examination of the 
keepers and crews, as to their physical and professional 
qualifications. The principal features of the method are 
indicated by the cuts on page 374, one showing the first 



S64 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Step taken, by which the chest is emptied of air, and the 
ejection of any fluids that may have been swallowed is 
assisted; and the other the position and action of the oper- 
ator, in alternately producing artificial expiration and inspi- 
ration, in imitation of natural breathing, which may be 
expected to ensue if the patient is not really dead. 

There are many appliances auxiliary to the principal 
means employed in the operations of the service, of which 
space will not permit present notice. The life-saving dress, 
however, which has been made familiar to the public 
through the exploits and expeditions of Paul Boyton, is 
one of considerable importance, and on several occasions 
has been used with great advantage. At the stranding of 
a schooner in the night on Lake Ontario last year, in a 
sea which would not admit of the use of the boat, a shot- 
line was fired over her, with the intention of setting up the 
lines for the use of the breeches-buoy. The sailors hauled 
the whip-line on board, and when the tally-board, on which 
the directions for the method of procedure are printed in 
English on one side and French on the other, was received, 
the captain attempted by the light of the lantern to read 
them. Puzzling over them for some time, he at length 
contemptuously threw the board down on the deck, finding 
it impossible to make anything of it, having seen only the 
French side. Not knowing what else to do, therefore, he 
simply made the line fast, but in such a manner that it 
could not be worked from the shore. The surfmen vainly 
endeavored to convey instructions by signs. In the mean- 
time, the destruction of the vessel and the loss of all on 
board seemed imminent. In this dilemma, one of the surf- 
men put on the life-saving dress, and, after a gallant strug- 
gle, succeeded in hauling himself along the line through 
the breakers to the vessel, where he remained and took 
charge of the operations on board until all were safely 
landed. On another occasion three sailors, in spite of the 
warning signals of the life-saving crew, committed the com- 



THE LI FES A VING SER VICE. 



3^5 




BREECHES-BUOY APPARATUS IN OPERATION. "HAUL AWAY !" 

mon error of attempting to land in one of the ship's boats. 
A strong current was running between the ship and the 
beach, and the water was full of porridge-ice for a long 
distance from the shore. Knowing what would happen, 
two of the surfmen put on their life-saving dresses and ran 
up the beach, with difficulty maintaining their race with 
the boat, which continued for the distance of two miles, 
until reaching an open space in the ice, the sailors 
attempted to land, when they were capsized in the surf, 



366 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



but were rescued from 
drowning by the surf- 
men, who rushed into 
the breakers and safely 
dragged them ashore. 
Clad in the life-saving 
dress, the wearer pre- 
sents a strange appear- 
ance, and to an uniniti- 
ated observer he might 
seem, while engaged in 
his weekly practice, to 
be some amphibious 
monster, disporting one 
moment in the water 
and the next on land. 
Sometimes in cold 
weather, a surfman thus 
arrayed, goes on some 
errand from the station 
to the mainland, his 
route being an air-line 
across deep sloughs or 
creeks and wet marshes 
for two or three miles. 
A surfman once going 
from an outlying beach 
in his life-saving dress, 
had just crossed a 

THE BREECHES BUOY. wldC SlOUgh, aud Hs- 

ing suddenly among the reeds on its muddy banks, be- 
held two snipe shooters a hundred yards away, gazing in 
undisguised astonishment. "I seen they was mighty 
skeered," said he, "and took me for the devil or some 
other sea varmint, so I beginned to cut up and prance 
round like a yearlin' calf in a two-acre medder, a-yellin' 




THE LI FES A VING SER VICE. jdy 

and a-screechin' all the time as loud as I could holler, and 
ye 'd jest orter seen them fellers scoot fur the cedars. I 
guess they's runnin' yit." To a doubting Thomas who 
asked, "But whar was their guns all this time?" he re- 
plied: "Pshaw! them fellers never knowed they had no 
guns." The hunters' version of the adventure has never 
reached the beach, but it may be easily imagined. 

When the life-saving dresses were first introduced into 
the service, the surfmen regarded them with as little favor 
as they usually manifest for any innovation upon the simple 
devices and methods which were transmitted to them from 
their fathers, especially as regards appliances for their own 
safety, such as life-belts and cork jackets. They prefer to 
rely upon their skill and endurance as swimmers, with 
unencumbered limbs and bodies. Probably, also, a certain 
degree of pride disinclines them to wear anything that 
might suggest the least suspicion of a faint heart. For a 
long time, to insure their use in the face of these preju- 
dices, firm and judicious measures on the part of the offi- 
cers of the service were required, and the life-belts were 
not willingly donned by the men throughout the service 
until they had been taught a sad lesson, by the capsizing 
of a surf-boat and the loss of the crew, who had gone 
to a wreck at night without them. Only recently, a brave 
volunteer, on taking an oar in a station boat, in a danger- 
ous sea on Cape Cod, was proffered a spare life-belt but 
declined it saying : " Oh, no ! I don't want to go floating 
by Highland Light carrying a deck load of cork." The 
Hfe-belt is manufactured from selected cork, and is so ad- 
justed that the wearer has free use of his limbs in any 
position. Its buoyancy is sufficient to support two men in 
the water. Since its adoption by the men, none have been 
drowned, although many have been thrown into the water 
by capsized boats. 

The fife-saving men, of course, must have their hours of 
relaxation. Among the people of the coast, more than 



j68 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



elsewhere, perhaps, a pronounced religious sentiment pre- 
vails; hence, carousing and gaming and other immoralities 
are rarely indulged in. Especially is this true at the sta- 
tions, where prohibitory regulations add their restraint. 
Each station is provided with a substantial library, of well- 
selected books, the donations of generous people, with the 
view of contributing to the diversion of the crews and the 
solace of the victims of shipwreck who may be temporarily 




THE SELF-RIGHTING LIFE-BOAT. 



detained there. These libraries are the source of much 
entertainment and instruction to the men. In fine, clear 
weather, when the wind is off shore, and there is little 
occasion for anxiety, the surfmen gather in the mess-room 
and while away the time rehearsing the legends of the 
coast, spinning yarns, singing or listening to the tuneful 
strains of violin or flute. Now and then when the moon 
is full, there is a "surprise party" at the station. From 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. s6g 

the mainland or the neighboring settlements come men and 
women, the friends and relatives of the surfmen, bringing 
cakes and pastries, and other good things from their 
homes. Then all is joy unconfined; the boat-room is 
cleared of carriage and cart, and the merry dance goes 
round. Do not imagine, however, that in these festivities 
the patrol is relaxed. Not at all, the rule is inflexible, 
and its violation would be discovered. Indeed, who knows 
that the beach watch is not then doubled and that, with 
wife or sweetheart to share his vigils, the patrolman 
yearns not for the pleasures at the station ? 

A mute but interested spectator of the entertainment is 
perhaps a Newfoundland dog. These noble animals, whose 
good qualities are so well known, are kept at many of the 
stations and they often seem instinctively to understand the 
object of the service, to which they soon become faithfully 
attached. The celebrated picture of Landseer, entitled "A 
Distinguished Member of the Humane Society," will read- 
ily be recalled by the reader. One remarkable illustration 
which the service furnishes of the characteristics of this 
sagacious animal is worthy of note. At the sad disaster 
to the steamship Metropolis on the coast of North Carolina, 
while the life-saving men were engaged in rescuing the 
crowd of passengers thrown into the sea by the breaking 
up of the vessel, a large Newfoundland dog belonging to a 
gentleman residing in the vicinity, seemed suddenly to com- 
prehend the situation, and joining the throng of rescuers, 
plunged into the surf, seized a drowning man, and dragged 
him safely ashore. Shortly afterward he left his master 
and went to the station of the crew with whom he ren- 
dered this first service in life-saving, and there he still re- 
mains, steadily resisting every inducement to return to his 
former master. Every alternate night he sets out with one 
of the first patrol and accompanies him until the patrolman 
from the next station below is met, when he joins the lat- 
ter and proceeds with him to that station, where he re- 



370 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



mains until the first watch of the next night, when he 
returns to his own station in the same manner. These 
self-assumed duties he performs with the peculiar gravity 
of demeanor that distinguishes his species, changing his 
station daily, for some good and sufficient dog-reason, no 
doubt, while very sensibly keeping but one watch each 
night. 

The plan of the organization of the service is simple but 
effective. The coast-line is divided into twelve districts, 




THE SELF-RIGHTING LIFE-BOAT UNDER SAIL. 

there being eight on the Atlantic coast, three on the 
Lakes, and one on the Pacific. , In each of these the sta- 
tions are distinguished by numbers, from one upward, be- 
ginning at the most northerly or easterly. Each district is 
under the immediate charge of a superintendent, who must 
be a resident thereof, and familiar with the character and 
peculiarities of its coast-line. He nominates the keepers of 
the stations, makes requisition for needed supplies, etc., 
and pays the crews their wages. To each district is also 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 37' 

assio-ned an inspector, who is the commanding officer of 
the revenue cutter whose cruising grounds embrace the 
limits of the district. These officers, under the direction of 
a chief inspector, who is also an officer of the Revenue 
Marine, make stated inspections and drill the crews. The 
entire service is under the charge and management of a 
general superintendent, whose office is a bureau of the 
Treasury Department. All the officers of the service are 
invested with the powers of customs officers, which enable 
them to protect the interests of the government in prevent- 
ing smugghng, and assisting in securing the collection of 
duties upon dutiable wrecked goods. They are also 
required to guard wrecked property until the owners or 
their agents appear. 

The officers and men of the service are chosen without 
reference to any other consideration than those of profes- 
sional fitness and integrity. In the introduction and main- 
tenance of this principle of selection much opposition and 
diffiiculty have been encountered. In the older districts, 
owing to the fact that until 187 1 the keepers of stations 
were regarded only as custodians of public property, with- 
out responsibility in the success or failure of efforts at 
wrecks, surfmanship was not a standard of quahfication, 
and these positions were generally made the rewards of 
political service by each of the parties, as they alternately 
succeeded to power ; and so, when the employment of 
crews was authorized, the local politicians endeavored to 
control the appointment of these also. Their success soon 
became only too evident, and it was to counteract these 
injurious influences that the board of examination already 
mentioned was constituted. A thorough inspection of the 
service was made ; every station was visited, the incompe- 
tent were dismissed, and qualified men were employed in 
their places. The advantageous changes in the corps some- 
what altered its political complexion, and the nullification of 
the effort to subordinate the service to poHtical ends was 



37^ 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



not quietly accepted. Threats and appeals were in turn 
resorted to, to overcome the determination of those in 
charge of the service. Upon the establishment of new 
districts, similar attempts to gain control of them are gen- 
erally made, but they are not so tenaciousl}^ persisted in. 
These attempts are not confined to 
the party in power. No sooner is 
a keeper appointed from the oppo- 
sition than he is beset with solicita- 
tions and demands to remember 
his party friends. The offi- 
cial injunction, however, issued 



■.r\ 








LIFE-SAVING DRESS. 



TALLY-BOARD AND WHIP-BLOCK. 



yearly, at the commencement of the season, to the superin- 
tendents and keepers, that only capability and worth are to 
be regarded in the choice of their subordinates, supple- 
mented by the action of the examining board, keeps the 
service well exempt from political domination. 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. jyj 

But, it will be asked, what results have been attained by 
the service? At this writing, (1880), the last published 
report is that of the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1878. 
From this it appears that during that year there were 171 
disasters to vessels within the limits of the operations of 
the service. There were on board these vessels 1,557 
persons. The number of lives saved was 1,331, the num- 
ber lost 226, and the number of days' succor afforded to 
shipwrecked persons at the stations was 849. Of the 226 
lost, 183 perished in the disasters to the steamers Huron 
and Metropolis, the former occurring four days prior to 
the manning of the stations, which the appropriations for 
the maintenance of the service did not then permit to take 
place until the first of December, and the latter occurring 
at a distance so remote from the nearest station as to ren- 
der prompt aid impossible; — defects which the reports of 
the service had repeatedly pointed out, and asked to have 
remedied. The loss of fourteen others occurred where 
the stations were not open. Making allowance for these, 
the loss of life legitimately within the scope of life-saving 
operations, was twenty-nine. The sad catastrophes of the 
Huron and Metropolis contributed largely in securing the 
passage of the effective bill of June, 1878, which was in- 
troduced and warmly advocated by Hon. S. S. Cox, and 
which established the service on a stable basis, with pow- 
ers and functions somewhat commensurate with its pur- 
poses and capabilities. From November, 1871, the date of 
the inauguration of the present system, to the 30th of 
June, 1878, the number of disasters stated to have occurred 
within the field of operations of the service was 578; the 
number of persons on board the vessels involved was 
6,287; the number saved was 5,981; the number lost 306, 
and the number of days' relief afforded to shipwrecked 
persons at the stations, 3,716. 

It should be observed that during the first of these seven 
years the service was limited to the coasts of Long Island 



374 



GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 




RESUSCITATION: EJECTING WATER FROM BODY. 

and New Jersey; the two following years, to those coasts, 
with the addition of Cape Cod; the next year to the fore- 
going, with the addition of the coasts of New England and 
the coast from Cape Henry to Cape Hatteras; the next, 




RESUSCITATION: RESTORING RESPIRATION. 

to the foregoing, with the addition of the coast from Cape 
Henlopen to Cape Charles; the next, to all the foregoing, 
with the addition of Florida and the lake coasts; and the 
last year, to the coast at present included. 

It is not claimed that the entire number of persons des- 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



375 



ignated in the above figures as saved would have perished 
but for the aid of the life-saving crews, since not unfre- 
quently, in cases of shipwreck by stranding, a portion of 
the imperiled succeed in escaping to the shore, as did sev- 
eral in the instance of the Huron; and it often happens 
that the sudden subsidence of the sea spares the threatened 
vessels from destruction. But it is certain that a large 
proportion of the number would have perished. A closer 
approximation to the real efficacy of the service could be 
reached, if statistics of the loss of life in former years 
upon the coasts where life-saving stations are now estab- 
lished could be obtained. Unfortunately no such record 
exists, except an im- 
perfect one, consist- 
ing of meagre data 
relative to disasters be- 
tween 1850 and 1870 in 
the vicinity of the rude 
station-huts of the Lono- 
Island and New Jersey 
coasts. It is known that 
this record by no means 
includes near all the dis- medicine chest, 
asters which occurred on lanterns, etc. 
these coasts. A comparison, however, 
of the record of the service since 1871 
with this list shows an average annual reduction in the loss 
of life of about eighty-seven per cent! 

The record is a shining one. How much of it is due 
to official organization may readily be conceived, but it is 
less easy to realize how much of it belongs to the gallant 
crews of the stations, some of whose hardships, together 
with the methods they employ, the foregoing pages dis- 
close. The professional skill of these men, their unfaltering 
energy and endurance, their steady bravery in the hour of 
supreme ordeal, and at all times their sober fidelity to duty, 




37(> GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

however hard or irksome, are beyond all tribute. None 
can better know it than the officers in charge of the ser- 
vice, whose main reliance must be, after all, upon the 
manly virtue of these crews. What, indeed, can ever stand 
in lieu of men! 

Many things are yet needed in aid of the labors of the 
crews. Numerous articles of outfit and equipment are re- 
quired, which the appropriations, so far, have not been 
sufficient to provide; an imperative need is an additional 
man for each station; at present, when a wreck occurs, 
the station is left without a proper custodian, who would 
thus be provided to guard the public property and to keep 
the house in the state of comfortable preparation befitting 
the return from a rescue of the exhausted crew, with a 
convoy of drenched, frozen, wounded, and famished people. 
In. the routine of station duty, another man would also 
greatly relieve the others, now too severely tasked. An- 
other urgent requirement at many of the stations is horses, 
which Congress should provide. The heavy draught labors 
involved in hauling a ponderous load of apparatus for miles 
to a wreck would thus be spared the men, giving them 
time and strength for their daring and perilous work of 
rescue. Another need, surely, is pensions for those who 
are permanently disabled in the line of their duty, and for 
the widows and orphans of those who perish in the en- 
deavor to save life from shipwreck. The guns trained to 
destroy life in the service of the country carry this grate- 
ful condition. The guns trained to save life, no less in the 
service of the country, have an equal right to carry it also. 
What soldiers have a better claim to this form of public 
remembrance than the noble beachmen who surrender life, 
as did those in North Carolina, in 1876, when endeavoring 
to rescue the sailors of the Nuova Ottavia? 

In the thought of this deed let us close. A gallant soul 
whose name honors the roll of the Life-Saving Service, 
once said: "When I see a man clinging to a wreck, I see 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 



377 



nothing else in the world, and I never think of family and 
friends, until I have saved him," It is certain that this is 
the spirit which pervades the- men of the coast. All report, 
all record testifies to it, and every winter their deeds 
sublimely respond to the divine declaration : " Greater love 
hath no man than this, that a man la}- down his life for 
his friends." 




THE MESS-ROOM, "WHEN THE WIND IS OFF SHORE." 



37B GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



The correspondence following, having occurred since the 
publication of the "Winter Talks," I have deemed it 
advisable to append it to the work without disturbing the 
previous arrangement. The letters that I have received 
from the several station keepers fully illustrate the benefit 
of their mission, and give the reader an insight into the 
quality of those composing the service. They are men 
of pluck, daring and intelligence, and bring to their work 
excellent seamanship and sound judgment, as well as 
humanity, to make it effective. Those who have little to 
report are as efficient and ready for service as those who 
by chance are called to report more — their turn likely to 
occur at any moment. 



Capt. A. L. Remick, keeper of Rye Beach Station, thus 
writes : 

The schooner Rockaway, a small vessel of about 40 tons, left York, Me., 
about noon, Dec. 23, with a cargo of bricks, bound for Boston. Wind N. 
W., light; thermoineter 40° below, and a thick vapor. Everything went 
vvell until about midnight, but when near Thatcher's Island the wind sud- 
denly shifted to S. E., with a heavy sea on, and finding he would not 
weather Cape Ann, the captain bore away for Portsmouth. During the 
night the wind blew away some of his sails and the sea sent his boat adrift, 
the vessel leaking badly. When about four miles from Portsmouth, took 
the wind from N. N. E., and in the crippled condition the vessel was it be- 
came necessary to anchor her three-quarters of a mile from shore, and two 
and a half miles from this station. As it was misty and thick we could not 
see the vessel from the station, but a man who lived on the beach, near by, 
saw her at anchor, with signal of distress flying, and, coming to this station, 
notified us of the fact. We at once run the surf boat down the beach. 
There was a tremendous sea rvmning, but we launched the boat, and in at- 
tempting to get over the inner bar a heavy sea partly filled the boat, break- 
ing the twenty-two foot steering oar, and knocking the keeper (G. B. Cas- 
well) down into the bottom of the boat, compelling him to return to the 
shore. Holding a council, we decided that it would be quicker and surer to 
get a team and haul the boat to Rye Harbor, one mile to the eastward of the 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. jjg 

station, and launch from there, as it was getting late in the afternoon. We 
launched the boat in Rve Harbor, with comparatively smooth water, but 
soon encountered the heavy sea again after passing a point of land, but after 
a hard pull of one hour and a half, against a head wind and heavy sea, we 
arrived at the wreck, from which we took Capt. Kingsbury, his wife and 
fifteen year old son, who constituted the crew, returning with them safely to 
Rye Harbor, from which the Captain's wife was conveyed to the station in 
a team, the others remaining by the boat. We did not reach the station till 
after dark, where the three were provided for for. two days. Next morning, 
the sea having subsided somewhat, the vessel was still above water, and we 
again launched our boat and went to her. She had two and a half feet of 
water in her hold, but as she had a powerful pump we soon freed her, and 
then started for Portsmouth, in a surf-boat, to procure a tug to take her in. 
This we succeeded in doing, and, after again pumping her out, she was 
towed safely into Portsmouth, thus saving vessel, cargo and crew." 



Capt. J. H. Haley, Keeper Hunnewell Point, Maine, Sta- 
tion, sends me the following, which covers a period of 
great activity, and affords convincing argument of the 
great benefit of the system: 

"This station was ready for duty Jan. 14, 1884, and since that time we 
have rendered assistance to fourteen vessels, besides three that were warned 
off the coast by the burning of the Coston night-signal. We have rendered 
assistance to light-keepers in several ways, in one instance suppressing fire, 
and three small boats have been aided. The fourteen vessels imperiled 
were valued at $148,000, their cargoes at $10,675. The following were the 
vessels aided, and the nature of the assistance rendered: 

Jan. 19, 1884, the three masted schooner Electric Lig-Jif, from Philadelphia 
for Bath, Me., with a cargo of coal, anchored between Seguin and Pond 
Island light, and a gale from N. N. E. having arisen, in attempting to get 
under weigh, her anchor broke ground, with a long scope, exposing her to 
peril. We launched the surf-boat and went to her assistance, heaving up 
anchor and furling sails, leaving her to be towed to Bath by the Eastport 
cutter, that had come to her assistance but could not render any owing to 
the violence of the gale. 

March i, 1884, the Br. schooner Astra, of St. Johns, N. B., bound to 
that port from Lynn, Mass., light, made the breakers in a thick snow storm, 
the vessel just clearing the rocks, when the anchor was dropped. When 
the snow lifted we saw the vessel and went out to her. Found the crew all 
packed up and ready to leave when the worst should happen. Went on 
board, cleared the deck of snow, furled up the sails, and made things as 
comfortable as could be under the circumstances. The vessel lay all right, 
and when the wind subsided she went on her wa}'. My men got somewhat 

rost-bitten, as it was very cold. 



j8o GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

April 22, 1S84, the schooner Cockeco, of Deer Island, Maine, for Rockland, 
with a cargo of cord-wood from Cape Small Point, Phipsburg, signaled for 
assistance. Her sails had blown away and she was leaking badly. Mended 
the sails, and went with the schooner to Boothbaj, where we left her with 
thanks of her crew. 

The next one aided was the schooner Agnes R. Bacon, of Brighton, N. J., 
bound to Philadelphia, Pa., from the Kennebec with a cargo of ice. She 
broke adrift in the night and struck some sunken rocks called the Black 
Jacks. We went on board, and, knowing she would fill as soon as the tide 
flowed, went to work at once to take everything in the cabin to the shore. 
When the tide flowed, got the vessel off the rocks, and a steam tug towed 
her to Portland, Me., for repairs. 

The schooner Katie Mitchell, of Bath, loaded with cord-wood for Boston, 
while beating out of the river miss-stayed and went ashore on the Lower 
Sugar Loaf. The steamer Knickerbocker, after considerable trying, failed to 
release her. It being in the inactive season, it was some time before I 
could pick up my men, as they were all fishing. I found three, who, with 
mvself, went on board the vessel, which was pounding the bottom hard. 
We went to work, and in one hour had her afloat. Tried the pumps and 
found her tight, when the captain proceeded on his way, well pleased with 
what we had done; 

Sept. 10, 1884, the Charles E. Balch, a four master schooner, of Bath, light,, 
on her wav up the Kennebec for ice, anchored off the beach just above this 
station. There came a heavy squall from the east, which drove her ashore. 
We launched our boat and run hawsers from the vessel to a steamboat, by 
which she was towed to a safe anchorage. While launching the boat one 
of my men got badly hvirt, from which he has not yet recovered. 

The Sloop Gnll, while trying to get out of the river, ran on the rocks, 
keeled off, and would have filled if we had not kept constantly bailing with 
buckets. She was a little vessel, worth only about $600, but she was all her 
captain owned in the world, and of more consequence to him than would 
have been a full-rigged ship to others. We meet, in the discharge of our 
duties, some very peculiar people. Some appear to appreciate the service 
rendered, while others watch us with most crafty suspicion. 

Oct. 19, 18S4, the schooner James Barrett, of Gardiner, while beating into 
the river, missed in stays, and went on the rocks at Parker's Point. We 
went on board, ran out a kedge anchor, and warped the vessel to safe anch- 
orage. 

Oct. 21, 1884, a brig ran on the bar in the night. We went on board, got 

out anchors, and soon had her in a safe position. 

Nov. 6, 1884, three-masted schooner J. F. Merrotvs, of Boston, anchored 
off this station at twelve, midnight, the wind blowing a gale from the west. 
She struck adrift and went down on the Jacks. The captain burnt his torch 
for help, to which the watch replied with his Coston night-signal. We 
launched our boat and went to him. The vessel lay in a hard place, and it 
was seen that she must be kept from the Lower Shug, or Cape, if possible. 
We ran out a kedge and got lines to the rocks to hold her from going on 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 381 

the Shug. This was done with great difficulty, as the sea deluged my men and 
and myself, and the night was very cold. The wind held more to the north, 
and the sea went down with the ebb tide, when we parted our kedge anchor 
hawser and the lines attached to the rocks. The only thing to be done was 
to make sail and keep the vessel if possible from a breaking ledge under her 
port quarter. We succeeded in keeping her in this position until the tide 
commenced to flow, when she was towed to Bath. The captain was happy 
at his escape, and gave us a letter of thanks for our timely services. 

Nov. 32, boarded the schooner Isabella., of Wiscasset, which we found in a 
bad condition, with jib-boom gone, and main topmast and spring stay. Let- 
ting the mast hang over the stern we went into the cabin where we found 
one man sick and another trying to get some breakfast. We asked the cap- 
tain how he carried away his spars. He said the vessel " rolled them away 
in the night," which did not seem probable. We asked if he wanted assist- 
ance. He said he did, as his best man was sick and not able to do anything. 
Went to work, clearing away the broken spars, and, getting up a temporary 
sparing stay, we hove up anchor and got the vessel into the river out of all 
danger. In about three weeks the schooner came out again, loaded with 
slab-wood for Boston, but when off Cape Elizabeth was abandoned and 
drifted on Beach Island, Fletcher's Neck, bottom up. 

Dec. 12, 1884, the schooner Alice Oakes, of Portland, Me., from Bath for 
New York, with a cargo of lumber, while trying to get out of the river, 
found herself in a dangerous position near the Jacks, and lost one of her 
anchors; went on board and helped her out of her trouble, when she went 
on her way. 

The sloop Alice, of Bath, Me., for Portland, with a load of furniture, when 
off Seguin was dismasted. We saw the accident and went to her assistance. 
We got the broken mast on board and as much of the sail as we could by 
raising up the gaff, when the svirf-boat, with her sail set, towed the sloop 
with a fair wind, to Harmond's Harbor, the nearest place that could be 
reached, where we cut the mast over and stepped it again, set up the rig- 
ging, and left the sloop in a better condition for carrying sail than before. 

The last one to call for our services was the schooner Orina B. Kimball 
that left Portland on the i8th of Jan., '85, for Boothbay with a general cargo. 
When off Halfway Rock she jibed her foresail, which took the foremast off 
about half wav up. The wind continued to blow until it had increased to a 
gale. The vessel was kept before the wind, with a little bit of the 
mainsail, the only sail that could be made on her, and when off the Black 
Rocks, the captain, thinking the vessel was going ashore, let go both 
anchors, and fetched the schooner up just clear of the breakers. The crew 
then left her to her fate, and landed at Fire Island Harbor, more or less 
frost-bitten. They got a man to come to this station for assistance, who 
arrived at 4 o'clock in the morning. We launched the boat and immedi- 
ately went in search of the schooner. We found her as she had been left, 
with chances looking hard for our having the vessel and cargo. The sails 
were all torn to pieces, and broken spars lay all around the decks, with a 
coating of ice about three inches thick over everything. We went to work 

48 



3S2 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

with a will, beat off tlie ice, cleared awaj' the rigging, spars and sails, run 
the fore gaff up the mast, (jaws up) with tackle attached, hoisted throat of 
foresail, lifting the peak bj a block in the lee main rigging, making all as 
taut as we could. Then the anchors were got in and the vessel headed for 
Boothbay. We got a little more of the mainsail on her, and arrived all 
right. When the captain and crew came on board the first thing they did 
was to go down in the cabin and see that nothing had been stolen — a pot of 
beans that had been baking in the oven being the only thing missing. The 
captain was grateful enough to say that he felt "much obliged" to us for 
saving his vessel and cargo, valued at $5,000. I asked him for a letter ex- 
pressing his thanks for our services, which he said he would write, but it 
has not been received yet. 

On board of these fourteen vessels there were seventy-nine persons, with 
two women passengers, all of whom were saved. 



The following is by a correspondent of The Bath, Me., 
Independent : 

A STRUGGLE WITH THE WAVES. 

I was summoned Tuesday, Jan. 25th, to go to Seguin to see Mr. Abbott, 
the second light keeper, at about one o'clock p. m., by Capt. Parker Haley 
and a Mr. Barton, a keeper on Seguin. The wind was breezing up south- 
west quite fresh at the time. I went with them from the lower part of 
Georgetown in a dory across to Fort Popham. We left the wharf there at 
about half past two o'clock in the life-boat with Capt. John Haley and five 
of his crew, Warren Davis, Ephraim Marr, Will Haley, Cyrus L. Oliver, 
Zina H. Spinney, also the first keeper, Mr. Henry Day, and wife. The ebb 
tide was setting out quite strong and the wind increasing every moment. 
We had a not very rough passage on to the island, except occasionally we 
were wet with a little spray. We were there nearly an hour, and left for 
our trip home not far from 3:45 o'clock. Meanwhile the wind had risen to 
a gale from the southwest and the tide was running out of the river at its 
greatest strength, making a tremendous sea. The Captain put up sail and we 
started before it to run for Stage Island. We were fairly flying over the 
water, when I saw the Captain throw overboard a canvas bag attached to a 
long line, which they told me was a drag to keep her steady, and I noticed 
that he had every man at his post, and that each man had got out his knife, 
and had a hatchet laid near by to cut with. We had now gotten out into 
the sea about half way from Seguin to Pond Island. Every man stood firm 
at his post, with an eye on the seas as they rose and fell and foamed all 
ai-ound us like so many demons, threatening every moment to swallow us 
up in their madness. Orders were promptly obeyed, and every nerve put 
on the strain. I sat about midships watching the seas. First we were riding 
on the top of one about fifteen or twenty feet high and then down between 
them, and they about the same distance above us. Presently one broke over 
our boat and partly filled it. They let go the sail, and part of the crew 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 383 

went to bailing for life with the buckets, which were cut from their lashings 
in a twinkling. The others held her steady. Before she rallied from that we 
looked astern and there towered above us a sea nearly Wenty-five feet in 
height, which rolled above us until about amidships and then came down on 
us with a roar which seemed to say to us all, "Now we have got you!" com- 
pletely engulfing the men and boat at one time. Our boat was full of water. 
For a moment she was overpowered, but she again rallied and the water was 
quickly bailed out. We got our sail in place again, and once more all took a 
breath of relief. One second's time of mismanagement and we should all 
have been lost. No one could have got to our relief. The Captain said it 
was the roughest time that they had ever had. They managed the boat 
grandly, and she is a noble boat. In a short time they landed me at Martin 
Todd's shore. They were a wet, and at the same time a happy crew. The 
people ashore watching us with glasses, thought we had gone down for the 
last time. None of us ever expected to again reach land. 

O. M. Kingsbury, M. D. 



Captain Freeman Shea, keeper of White-Head Station, 
thus writes to me, Feb. 9, 1885: 

"We are having a pretty hard winter here, with sudden changes and 
severe cold weather, and now there is ice for two miles in either direction. 
The boys have had their faces and ears frozen a little several times, but they 
don't seem to mind it much. Regarding our work in this service, we have 
had so many disasters that I hardly know what to select as an example. 
One incident I may, however, relate that did not find its way into the annual 
report of 1884. On Nov. 26, 1883, the British schooner Emma E. Potter, 146 
tons, of Annapolis, N. S., bound from Clemmonsport, N. S. to Boston, Mass., 
with a cargo of wood and fish and a crew of six men, stranded on Grind- 
stone Ledge, about eight miles E. N. E. of this station, at 2:30 p. m. The 
patrolman discovered her at the same time, and promptly reported the disas- 
ter to the keeper. It was then blowing strong from the southeast, with a 
heavy sea. The weather was dark and cloudy, and every indication of a 
storm and gale. The new surf-boat was launched at once, and after pulling 
about a mile to the windward, so the sail would draw, we set the sail, and, 
under sail and oars, arrived at the wreck a little past 4 p. m. The wind at 
this time had increased to a strong gale. Found the vessel, with a signal of 
distress tlving, rolling and striking heavily on the ledge and leaking badly. 
Had some difficulty in boarding her, as the sea was breaking heavily all 
around her. The vessel's boat had been cleared away with the intention of 
leaving her, but as the boat had become partly filled, the crew did not dare to 
leave for fear of swamping. After listening to the captain's story — (which 
was, that he was part owner of the vessel, and his share in her was all the 
property he had in the world; that he had spent nearly a lifetime upon the 
ocean to accumulate this, and it was hard to lose it, and, being entirely unac- 
quainted with the coast, gave the vessel up to the keeper to do what he 



384 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

thought best) as the schooner appeared good and strong, it was decided to 
remain on board until she floated and save her if possible. So the first thing 
done was to reef the mainsail and hoist it, to keep her steady and prevent her 
from rolling and staving on the rocks, which had the desired effect for a 
while. The pumps were manned, and for three hours she could just be kept 
free. Then the water commenced gaining, and at 8 p. m. there was three feet 
of water in the hold. It was raining, the wind blowing a perfect gale, a high 
sea running, and the vessel striking heavily upon the rocks, when the captain 
wished to leave her, but the keeper told him that affairs were no worse than 
had been expected, and if we left now our work would be all for nothing; 
that the vessel would float or stave up in a short time, and we could then de- 
cide what to do. At about 8:30 she washed over the ledge and floated. All 
sail was set that she could bear, which was but little, she being half full of 
water and the sea breaking over her. It was then so thick and dark with 
rain that we could not see more than the length of the vessel. The keeper 
took the helm, and, placing two of his men on the lookout, managed to run 
her in, through a narrow crooked channel, upon the flats in a sheltered part 
of Owl's Head Harbor. We ran hawsers to the shore, made her well fast 
and fvirled sails. The vessel was then full of water, but could sink no deeper, 
as she was hard on bottom. It was now midnight and the life-saving crew 
were nine miles from the station, the gale preventing their reaching it, and, 
being wreary, all laid down on the cabin floor until morning. Capt. Jones 
was very grateful and thanked the crew for the service they had done him, 
saying that without their assistance his vessel, cargo, and probably the lives 
of all on board would have been lost. The vessel was worth about $9 000 
and it cost but a few hundreds to repair damages. At daylight it was blow- 
ing a gale from northwest, with snow squalls. The life-saving crew left the 
vessel for the station where they arrived at 9:30 A. M." 



Capt. Myers, of Quoddy Head Station, gives the follow- 
ing thrilling description of the " most dangerous work he 
ever engaged in " during his experience in the service : 

" On a cold morning in December my patrol reported a schooner dragging 
ashore on Duck Pond Ledge, at the entrance of Quoddy Bay, the wind at the 
time blowing south with a heavy sea. We were obliged to haul our boat 
about half a mile before we could launch. After launching we pulled down 
under the lee of the land, in smooth water, for a mile, when we got the wind 
and sea from Quoddy Head, the wind carrying us straight down to the ves- 
sel. Our boat fairly flew across the bay, the sea increasing. On approach- 
ing the vessel, it was suggested by one of the men that our boat would not 
come about in such a wind and sea without swamping. I told the crew on 
the port oars to be ready to swing the boat when I gave the word. I 
watched my chance and gave the order, when she went around like a top 
and met the first sea head on, or nearly so, without shipping any water. I 
saw by the faces of my men that all felt better after this first trial had passed. 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 385 

I then dropped down to the vessel very carefully. The spars had been cut 
away and were lying alongside with rigging attached, the crew trying to 
clear the wreck. I gained the starboard side and threw the heaving stick on 
board. The crew eagerly caught the line and hauled our painter in. I 
ordered them to take our line aft and let the boat drop astern. Then hauled 
in as close as I dared, and, using the speaking trumpet, asked the captain if 
he wished to leave the vessel. He replied that he did not, but his crew did. 
I told him I could not take his men unless he came with them, and they 
must make up their minds quickly. Finding me in earnest he said he would 
come, and the crew made a rush for the main-boom, that was hanging over 
the stern, to get into the boat. I shoved clear and told them to wait till I 
saw the way clear to save ourselves before receiving them. I stood in the 
stern of the boat and watched for some time for a passage through the 
ledges, where the sea did not break, and at last found one. I then called the 
men to rig a line from the end of the main-boom and come one at a time, 
and I would haul in and get them. First came the colored cook, crying, 
next a Dutchman nearly dead with fright, then Jack, a boy, who seemed to 
think it fun to be taken from the vessel in the Life-Service boat, and last 
the captain and mate. In the meantime my men had rigged a slipline to 
the vessel so that we could slip and go in a moment. I then had each one 
placed so as to trim the boat just right, and then told my men that they 
must pull about three hundred yards to windward to reach the shore safely, 
otherwise the chance was slim. The line was let go and we were off. It 
was a hard pull, but we cleared the breakers a short distance from the point, 
and then dashed on before the wind through a narrow channel, between 
two ledges, about a boat's length wide, going safely through, then over a 
second reef, and when about three seas from the shore one combed up too 
heavy for her to raise, and the hollow cap, coming down over the stern, 
raked her fore and aft. The next carried us high up the beach, all safe, the 
boat half full of water. We had landed on the island of Campobello, N. B. 
There was a fishing camp about two miles from where we landed, to which 
we went for shelter after pulling our boat up. It was a six miles walk to 
Lubec, which would have been far better to take, but the captain of the 
schooner wished to stay near his vessel, that he expected would strike the 
ledge at low water, and so we all went to the camp. Here we found a stove, 
but no pipe. I sent a man to Lubec for the stove pipe, while the rest got 
wood and things ready to stay all night. The man was gone four hours — 
six miles each way — and brought back with him the needed pipe, and some 
tea and coffee. We had put provisions in our boat in the morning before 
leaving the station, knowing that we could not get back till the gale let up. 
About 4 p. M. the wind changed to west and at dark it was blowing a north- 
west gale with thick snow squalls. AH hands were wet and cold. We got 
all the fire in the old stove that we could, and six at a time would hover over 
it to try and get warm and dry their clothes, while the other six walked the 
narrow floor. Myself and men gave the best chance to the wrecked crew, 
as they had lost, or expected to lose, all their personal effects, and felt badly. 
The night grew colder and colder. At midnight, at Lubec, we afterwards 



j86 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

learned, the mercury stood at 14° below, at sunrise 19°. I did not dare let 
the men go to|bleep, as I knew thej would freeze to death when uncon- 
scious. I therefore moved from one to the other and kept them awake. At 
3 A. M. our supply of wood gave out, and then we tore down the berths in 
the camp and burnt them. We went out, and, cutting down a large tree, we 
dragged it to the camp, upon which we took turns chopping until daylight. 
We kept an iron pail, full of hot coffee, on the stove all night, and each 
drank what he wanted. The bread brought from th^ station, though wet 
with salt water, was quite palatable. We had a good supply of salt beef, 
also, from the station. At daylight everything was covered with frost ---all 
the trees and bushes white. Some of the men proposed to start for Lubec, 
against which I protested, until after the sun should rise and warm the air a 
little. At 8 A. M. we discovered the schooner lying in as good a condition as 
when we left her the day before. The wind from northwest had swung her 
clear of the ledges and she was riding at her anchors all right. At 9 A. m. we 
prepared to leave the camp. We had, for two miles, to face a cutting north- 
west wind to reach our boat, part way through woods, and, starting the party 
ahead, I remained to put out the fire, overtaking them in about ten minutes. 
I found the negro cook with his face frozen and one of my crew taking the 
frost out of it with snow. I had put on a long oil cloth coat, on leaving the 
camp, and it froze so that I could not walk. I tried to tear it off, but it was 
new and would not be torn, and so, after sending the negro ahead, I went 
back to the camp where I found heat enough to warm my coat, and then fol- 
lowed the men through the woods, calling upon them as I went along fearing 
lest they should get separated. On reaching the edge of the woods I could 
only see ten ahead of me. I asked the captain who was missing. He said, 
" No one." "Why," said I, "here are only eleven." "Jack has not come out 
of the wood vet," he replied. "Why did you leave that boy?" I asked, rather 
severely. "Ah," said he, laughing, "he's a cute scamp and will come out all 
right." I went back to find Jack, and, after going some distance into the 
woods, I called and the boy answered, coming along with the captain's grip- 
sack almost as large as himself. I asked him where he had been. He said 
he had to carry the sack and took his time. "Did he give you that to lug for 
him.^" I asked. "Yes," he replied. "Why did you not throw it awa}'.'" 
" Oh, the captain's papers and some good clothes are in this." " Well, Jack, I 
expected to find you frozen." "Oh, I am all right, but this got heavy, and I 
had to stop and beat my hands and rub my face." The captain might weigh 
two hundred pounds and Jack perhaps one hundred, still he had shirked the 
bag, containing his papers and good clothes, upon the boy, with the mercury 
19 o below zero. I took the sack, and Jack and I soon reached the boat where 
the others had assembled. We launched and pulled out to the vessel, finding 
her iced up badlv. When alongside one man managed to climb on board 
and put over a ladder, and, as fast as possible, all hands got over the side. I 
stopped in the boat, passed out everything movable, and then went on deck. 
Had our boat dropped astern to stay till the weather modulated. After get- 
ting on deck I found that my right hand was frozen, the two middle fingers 
very badlv. Leavitt, of my crew, had his face frozen. Small the same. Fan- 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 387 

ning, fingers, A. Guptil, ears and nose (bad), G. L.Guptil, both hands. Of the 
vessel's crew. Captain, ears, nose and two fingers, negro cook both hands, 
Dutcliman, face, mate, feet and hands, Jack, the boy, not a nip. Morong, of 
my crew, not frozen any. We stayed on board the vessel until 3 p. m. when 
the wind died away, when I thought we could get home and started, arriving 
at the station at 5 p. m., a sorry crew enough. The worst of it was that had 
we not gone near the vessel the crew would have fared better than they did 
in our hands, as the wind changed and she swung clear of the ledges, but 
had the wind kept south, and no one gone to them, no doubt all would have 
been lost. After arriving at the station I sent a dispatch for a towboat, and 
next day she came down and towed the vessel away. She was the Com/no- 
dore Carney of Calais, Me., Capt. John Mason, and four men." 



Capt. William Marshall, keeper of Crumple Island Sta- 
tion, thus writes: 

" One of our hardest jobs was on Feb. 7, 1883, when the schooner Eliza- 
beth., of Calais, Me., was wrecked on Steals Harbor Island. We boarded her 
at about 6 p. m., but found no one on board. She was full of water, loaded 
with a general cargo. We could not get her off. Stopped by her all night, 
to protect her cargo, and until 4 p. m., next day without food. The distance 
from the station was about four miles. The Captain and crew of the 
schooner stopped at the light house." 



Capt. L. E. Wright, keeper Cross Island Station, de- 
tails one severe experience: 

" I have rendered assistance to a large number of vessels, among them the 
schooner Billow., Dec. 13th, 1S83. The lookout sighted her with his glass 
about 8 A. M. eight miles off shore. The weather was very cold, the svind blow- 
ing very strong, and a heavy sea running at the time. We launched our boat 
and pulled off to her. She was lying on her beam ends and full of water, 
having been in collision and abandoned. After several hours of hard labor 
we succeeded in righting her and bringing her into Cross Island Harbor. 1 
then telegraphed to her hailing port, (Canning, N. S.,) her crew having 
landed at Eastport, Me., in the vessel in collision with the Billov.\ and started 
for home, having given the vessel up as lost. Hearing that their vessel was 
saved they came back, arriving at the station, several days later, in a destitute 
condition ; we having, in the meantime, repaired the break in the vessel's side, 
freed her from water, and put everything about her in as good order as possi- 
ble. After keeping the crew several days at the station, and giving them 
provisions to last to Eastport, I secured the services of the Revenue Steamer 
Levi Woodbury to tow the disabled schooner to that port. The Captain left, 
feeling thankful to the Life-Saving Service." 



j88 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

Capt. G. T. Hadlock, keeper Cranberry Isles Station, 
Me., writes as follows: 

" I shall try to give jou a little account of the risks that are taken and the 
exposures endured by us in trying to save life and property. December 4, 
1882, the East patrolman came to the station and informed the keeper that he 
thought he saw a light over by East Bunker's Ledge, but could not tell 
whether it was a vessel at anchor or not. The keeper went over to the north 
side of the island, taking the glasses with him, but though he could make out 
the light, he could not tell whether it was a vessel at anchor or not. He got 
back to the station as quick as he could, and, at 11 p. m., launched the surf-boat 
and started to find out what it was. Upon arriving at the ledge it was found to 
be the side light of schooner Wm. Lancaster^ of Weymouth, N. S., on the ledge. 
Boarded her and told the captain to remain by his vessel, and on the flood tide 
we would try and get her off, as she was not much damaged. He said that if I 
thought I could take them off, after the flood tide made, he would stick by the 
wreck. I told him that we would go ashore on the ledge, and would be sure to 
take them off if there was no chance of saving the vessel. It was so rough that 
we could not keep our surf-boat alongside without being stove, so we went 
ashore on the ledge, hauled our boat up out of the water and turned her up, 
to break the storm off from ourselves as much as we could, and then trav- 
elled back and forth under the lee of the boat to keep from freezing. As 
soon as the tide flowed enough to let us get alongside the wreck, we went to 
her. 1 put two of our boat's crew on board, and ordered them with the 
assistance of the vessel's crew to hoist a two-reefed four topsail and jib and 
guy them over on the windward side, to press her bow off as soon as it lifted 
off the rocks. The wind was at that time one point on the starboard bow, 
and on a heavy sea she lifted forward and the sails pressed the bows off. 
The keeper told them to lay aft to hoist the two-reefed mainsail, and on the 
next heavy sea the sails pressed her off. There was more sail than the 
vessel could bear, but our object was to keel her over on her side and slide 
her off the ledge if we could. By doing as was done, the vessel and crew 
were saved. We towed her into Cranberry Island with safety, and, but for 
the assistance of the Life-Saving crew, she would have gone to pieces and 
the crew have been lost, as the sea was so rough that their poor boat could 
not have been got from the davits without being swamped if not stove to 
atoms. We returned to the station at 7 A. m., after being exposed seven 
hours and a half, wet, tired, hungry and cold. Feb. 11, 1883, the schooner 
Madaivaska Maid, of Gloucester, Mass., ran on the East Bunker's Ledge, in 
a blinding southeast snow storm, about one and a half miles from the island. 
She was not discovered until sometime after, when the surf boat was 
launched, the wind then blowing a southeast gale. Upon arriving at the 
wreck we could not see any one on board and no boat was visible. We 
pulled around the ledge to see if the crew had got on shore in their boat. 
Seeing nothing of them, we pulled back to the wreck and dropped our 
anchor to windward. The sea was then breaking over the vessel half mast 
high. Watched our cliance and dropped under her stern ; then put one of 



THE LTFE-SAVING SERVICE. j8g 

our surfmen on board to see if there was any one in the cabin dead or alive. 
While our man was on board she broke in two, abaft the mainmast, and the 
stern was thrown farther over the ledge. We had to take our man off the 
jib-boom. He came very near being washed off, but saved himself by get- 
ting hold of a rope, under the waist of the vessel, and holding on with all his 
might. He came up out of the water, spouting like a whale, fully water- 
logged. There was no one on board, the crew having got off, as soon as the 
vessel struck, in their own boat, and landed at Southwest Harbor. The ves- 
sel went to pieces." 



Capt. James E. Goldthwaite, Biddeford Pool Station, 
writes very modestly of the business of his field during 
the past year; but, though spared the fierce trials of other 
stations, he has in former seasons done good work, and 
has been ready for emergencies that have providentially 
been spared. There is no better or more efficient crew in 
the service, as I can certify, and no better keeper than 
Capt. Goldthwaite. He says: 

"We are about making preparations (April 20, 1885) for getting the house 
in order before leaving, or, in other words, we have begun our 'spring 
cleaning.' We have been very fortunate, this winter, in being spared any 
serious disaster, but we feel that we have done our dut}', and done it well ; 
and although we have not been called upon to try our mettle, we hope the 
public is satisfied with our service, assured of our willingness and readiness 
to do when occasion offers." 



In addition to the above, I submit the following pleasant 
bit of rhyme, which shows the keeper in the light of a 
poet as well as sailor, and serves to brighten up the 
atmosphere of storm and peril that invests the rest: 



THESE BOYS AND ME. 



If you'll give me your attention, 

I '11 see what I can do. 
In relating circumstances 

About myself and crew. 
We watch the coast for vessels, 
• That may drive upon the lee. 
And that's what Uncle Sam expects 

Of these boys and me. 
49 



jgo GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

When night shuts in around us, 

The boys then have to go 
Along the beach and o'er the hills, 

Amid the driving snow. 
They take their lantern in their hand, 

And gaze out o'er the sea, 
For that 's what Uncle Sam expects 

Of these boys and me. 

If a wreck should be discovered, 

We must try what we can do ; 
We'll launch the boat and pull away. 

And try to save the crew, 
Or harness on the mortar car. 

If there 's a heavy sea; 
That's just what Uncle Sam expects 

Of these boys and me. 

If we should be successful 

In bringing them ashore, 
We '11 take them to the station. 

Dry clothing to procure; 
We'll give to them hot coffee, 

Or a cup of Oolong tea, 
And that's what Uncle Sam expects 

Of these boys and me. 

And when our winter's work is done, 

We'll close the station door; 
Then will return unto our homes 

And friends, we left, once more ; 
We will take our wives and sweethearts 

And trot them on our knee; 
That's what will be expected 

Of these boys and me. 



LATER EPISTLES. 



The unavoidable delay attending the publication of my 
book has enabled me to procure further and fresher details 
of the service, and they are hereto appended, presenting 
further testimony as to its efficiency. I feel, under obliga- 
tion to correspondents for their prompt answers to my re- 
quest for information: 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. 39' 

Capt. A. L. Remick, of Rye Beach L. S. Station, writes 
as follows: 

.. I don't know that I can interest you much, but I will give V- a sketch 
of the saving of schooner Farr Dealer, of Castine, Me., m April, 1879. At 
That time I was surf-man at this station and took part in the occurrence. On 
March 31st, the wind being strong from north northeast, accompamed by 
Teavy snow squalls, the man on the east patrol discovered a schooner stand ng 
in for the land under short sail, which was evidently trymg to make Ports- 
mouth Harbor, but during the thick snow had got to leeward, and, bemg hght 
Is unable to make it. Consequently she came to anchor about one mile 
Touth east of our station. We kept a close watch on her, and just before n:gh 
saw the crew lower their boat and leave their vessel. It was very evident 
that they would not reach the shore before dark, if at all, and, it bemg dan- 
gerous to land even in the day time, the chances would be smaller m the 
darkness We immediately launched the surf-boat, went to their assistance, 
and brought them off in safety, although there was a heavy sea on the 
"ore Three men constituted the crew, whom we fed and lodged for the 
r^I ■ During the night the wind veered to the northwest, and blowed 
heavy at six o'clock A. m., April xst. We discovered that the schooner had 
p'te"^ her chains and was drifting away to sea. We at once launched the 
surf-boat manned by five station men and the schooner's own crew, and 
Tent af e'r the truant vessel, which we overtook and boarded about four mile 
Trom land. We found her tight, but with one chain parted and the stock of 
the other anchor broken. We made sail and attempted to work into 
Portsmouth Harbor, but the wind increased to a heavy gale, and we bea 
about until nearly night, losing ground all the ti-, -d, as d-kne- wa 
coming on, we were obliged to run for the Isles of Shoals for shelter, or be 
driven to sea. The latter not being very pleasant, as there were scarcely 
anv provisions on board, the captain of the schooner gave up command to 
th; station men, to save his vessel if possible. About five o clock p. m. we 
kept off for the Isles of Shoals. It being low tide when we arrived, we were 
obliged to run the vessel aground until the tide made, and then hauled into 
the wharf without much damage to the schooner. The wind blowed heavy 
off the land and we were obliged to remain on board three days before we 
got back to the station. We were on very short allowance during our stay, 
Though the people on the Island shared their provisions with us; but they 
were nearly destitute themselves, owing to the long stress of bad weather. 
Our efforts" saved the vessel, and possibly the crew." 

Hunnewell's Beach Life Saving Station. One of the 
ugliest features of our rocky coast, is between Popham and 
Secruin, including the Kennebec region. Capt. Haley, of 
the" Life Saving Station here, has very little to say for 



j9^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

himself, letting his actions speak for him, but there is no 
more efficient keeper along the Maine shore. He says: 

"This station has been manned three vears the 14th day of January, 1887, 
and during that time we have rendered assistance to twenty-eight vessels, 
valued at $290,000, with cargoes vulued at $18,775, '^^d having on board 144 
people, causing us to go off in our boat forty-five times, rescuing seventeen 
men and two lady passengers. Besides this we have made four trips to 
Seguin Island, the last the worst, which came near being our last anywliere. 
(Experience given in previous letter, on page 382.) I would further 
say that, during the four winters we have been here, the men have never 
missed walking twelve miles in four hours but three times, and then two 
men were out together, for company, in case of need." 



Capt. G. F. Hadlock, of Cranberry Isle Station, gives a 
very interesting letter, descriptive of life at the station, and 
shows activity of mind as well as body in discharge of 
duty. He says: 

"I write you at this time with a wish to give you an idea of our every-day 
life at this station, in fine weather. After the regular routine work is done, 
consisting of making beds, sweeping, trimming lamps, examining boats and 
gear to see that everything is in its proper place, then our exercises are 
taken, as follows: On Monday, Beach Apparatus Drill and examination of 
all the lines, together with exercise of surf-boats. Tviesday, exercises with 
surf-boats. Wednesday, exercise with Code signals. Thursday, Beach 
Apparatus drill. Friday, exercise at restoring the apparently drowned. 
Saturday, general house-cleaning. One surfman at a time is allowed to \'isit 
his home, and the men are allowed to gun or fish, bvit they must not go out 
of sight of the station, and must be within call if needed. We have good 
duck-shooting near the station in the fall and fipring, but mid-winter there 
are but few birds. We get some rare birds here : the Glancus gull, black- 
backed gull, burgomaster gull, white-winged gull, etc. When stormy 
weather comes, all hands must be at the station, unless on patrol or wreck 
duty. The patrol is kept up day and night if the weather is thick. If a 
wreck occurs, as soon as we get back to the station everything is put in order 
as quickly as possible and a patrolman sent out. If a boat is stove it must be 
mended at once, so that it can be used, if needed, before we rest or sleep. 
Sunday afternoon, when the weather is fine, our wives come to the station 
and take tea with us. Sometimes we have preaching at the station and peo- 
ple come from the other islands. We play dominoes, sometimes, for past- 
time. No cards are allowed at this station. We have a great many papers 
sent us by tourists who have visited this station, and we are very glad to get 
them." 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE: 393 

One incident that occurred at this station, which re- 
ceived attention at the time, was the wreck of schooner 
Afton, from St. John for Portland, Me., which, ran upon 
Cranberry Island Bar, and was a complete wreck. From a 
printed account, we learn that the men were reduced to 
the utmost extremity, took to the rigging, where they 
were compelled to stay for many hours, until -relieved by 
the men from the station. Their rescue is thus described: 

c. When their hopes were well nigh gone, the men espied the Cranberry 
Island Life Saving Station men coming to their rescue. The high sea pre- 
.:: ed^ en. fronr boarding the vessel, but with promptness the hfe savmg 
nen -t about to effect their rescue. The rocket apparatus was quickly put 
n u^e and a line thrown towards the schooner. The men on board the 
chrner failed to catch the line. Again line after 1;- was thrown^and as 
the men failed to catch them, they became disheartened. The eighth line 
thrown however, was caught and secured, and the exhausted men effected 
a aTdii." o le by one. As quickly as possible they were taken to the hfe 
L!ing"t;tion and supplied with dry clothes, and everything possible was 
done for their comfort." 

A letter from Capt. Wm. Marshall, of Crumple Island 
Station, which has been the scene of very etHcient action 
in past years, is a pleasant addition to the matter which 
has already been gathered: 

April 230, 18S7. 

Mr. Joseph W. Smith, 

Andover, Mass. 

/>.,„• 5.V.— Our station is about seven miles from town and three tronn 
the nearest inhabitant. I. is a small island of about ^ight acres up™ »h,ch 
there is no. a living tree, and consists most^.v o -=";->-- ^' " J^ 
being some hundred feet above the level of the sea. ilie greai 
Ue a mile to the eastward, and a small island, called ' Irishman s Island o 
he northwest, one fourth of a mile. There is a large ledge lying to t^^e 
westwa d, and sunken rocks, between that and the island, presen very prett, 
Tenerv for anv one not accustomed to the seashore. There is also a reef of 
rocks running'in a westerly direction about a mile and a half, which affo.ds a 
cata esort for gunners, who go there to shoot sea birds flying eastward in 
the spring, and wfstward in the fall. Our crew consists of eigh men includ- 

ns myseH and we keep ourselves busy by performing the duties of the ta- 
2^12 dav and night. We have had few wrecks this season, the worst of 



Sg^ GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

which was the British brig Dart, which occurred on the 6th of Sept., 1886. 
The crew consisted of eight, witli four passengers: two ladies and a child, 
and one gentleman. She struck about ten a. m., and I boarded her in the 
surf-boat in about fifteen minutes, taking the passengers ashore. I tried to 
get the vessel off, but she bilged on the rock as the tide flowed. I com- 
iTienced to strip her, and, with the help of five fishermen, had her all stripped 
and her gearing ashore, except spars and standing rigging. About six o'clock 
p. M. she began to break to pieces, and was a total wreck. Our time is about 
up, and my crew leave me about the first of May, when I have to stop 
here alone for about four months to look after the property, the wrecks if 
there are any, and take my share of gunning during the gunning season. 

Yours truly, 

(Signed) Wm. Marshall. 



Cross Island, near Cutler, Me., is a very important sta- 
tion, and some good work has been done there. Its 
keeper, Capt. L. E. Wright, writes me as follows: 

" We do not have many wrecks, but have assisted nine in about three 
vears. In everj^ case we have done all in our power to render them service. 
We have not lost a life in this immediate vicinity since I took charge in 
1879. We are situated on an island about six miles from a post ofiice. The 
only dwelling house on the island is occupied by one of the surf-men be- 
longing to this station. Our island is quite large— about 2,000 acres — 
mostly covered with a thick growth of birch and spruce. It is quite a place 
for game. All kinds of sea-fowl that frequent these waters make us a 
visit, either on their spring or fall migration. There are quite a number of 
wild deer on the island — seventy-five or a hundred of them I should 
judge. The owners of the island have had a special law passed for their 
protection. Thev are increasing very fast. I have one tamed that follows 
my cows round every day and comes home with them at night. The sum- 
mers are quite pleasant here, but the winters are very monotonous. You 
can rest assured that the books you presented to this station have been well 
read. My boat's crew are all local fishermen, and have spent a good part 
of their davs in a boat. They all attend to their duty in good shape. They 
are all steady, sober men and have been here, with one or two exceptions, 
about seven winters, during which time I have not known of a quarrel 
among them. All of the officers of the Life Saving Service who have vis- 
ited us seem to be perfect gentlemen. We go through our drills every day, 
Sundavs excepted, and think we are quite proficient in them. The shortest 
time we have made with the beach apparatus gear was before Capt. Lay, of 
U. S. schooner Dallas. We fired the shot seventy-five yards, with line, and 
set up the gear exactly as if working at a wreck at that distance, and landed 
one man in three and a half minutes, as recorded by Capt. Lay. He said 
that it was the quickest that it had ever been done by any crew within his 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. jgj 

knowledge. The men get leave of absence about once In three weeks, as 
only one can go at a time, and then only in pleasant weather. There is a 
good harbor on the north side of the island." 

The books alluded to by Capt. Wright were supplied by 
myself, to this and the like to other stations, a gift that 
gave me the greatest delight to bestow, and has been met 
by a return of thankfulnesss, from all the stations, that 
has proved it an unrivalled investment. These form but a 
nucleus of what I hope may be added to, and become 
respectable libraries. 



Life-Saving Station, Quoddy Head. The coast along 
the Lubec shore is exceedingly dangerous, and the station 
men there have to be constantly on the alert. Capt. A. 
H. Myers, the keeper, has a very graphic way of narrat- 
ing incidents, and, in response to my request for facts, he 
writes me the following: 

"Jan. 9, 1886, at 4:30 A. m., the man on the west patrol saw the lights of a 
vessel through the mist, and burnt a Coston light to warn them to haul off 
shore. He watched for some answering signal, and found the vessel was at 
anchor, with her side lights burning. He returned to the station and re- 
ported. The wind was light, with snow. I sent him back, as it was not 
uncommon for a vessel to anchor where she was, to wait for the tide. He 
passed close by where she lay, burned another light and passed on, o-etting 
no answer. He reached the end of his beat, struck his watch, and started to 
return, when the gale set in with a blinding snow storm. He hurried alono- 
and heard some one call for help, and a crew of half frozen men appeared to 
him on the beach. They had left the vessel when the tempest struck them 
in their own boat, and steered for where they had seen his light, doubtless 
saving their lives by so doing. He conducted them to the station, where 
they were cared for. The vessel dragged in and sank at her anchor, after- 
wards beating up the beach. No boat could have reached her half an hour 
after the gale struck her. The vessel proved to be the schooner Frederic D., 
of St. John, N. B, The crew were badly frozen. 

While caring for this crew, the eastern patrol reported a vessel driving 
ashore near the Relief House in Quoddy Bay. We all started for that point, 
carrying our gear for working the beach apparatus. On reaching the beach, 
I saw that the vessel would not strike there, and that no boat could live in 
such a sea. I ordered all hands back to the station for the new surf-boat and 
apparatus cart. We dragged the boat across the neck of land and then the 



jgd GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

• 
apparatus. The whole beach was covered with ice. But I knew that, as 
the tide rose, the ice would pile up in such a sea, when I would place the 
apparatus in the boat and risk the chance of reaching a sand bar about half 
a mile distant, where the vessel would probably strike. If I could get to 
leeward of that bar with the boat, we would be comparatively safe and have 
boat or apparatus to work with. As the ice cleared off with the rising tide, 
wa launched our boat, and I am sure no one thought she would live, but all 
took their chance. Hardly a word was spoken. She floated like a duck and 
reached the bar, but I then found it impossible to row against the wind and 
drift ice. I sent the men ashore with a line, and went myself, leaving one 
man to steer. We started, dragging her up the beach by the line. I had 
just reached the shore, when one of the men saw the vessel coming in on the 
rollers. I told my men to drag the boat along abreast of her, and I would 
run ahead and show myself, to let them know that help was coming. I had 
got to within about fifty yards of the vessel when they saw me and com- 
menced to call for help. I then saw the yawl boat trailing astern, full of 
water, as she rose on a sea, and three men, standing, pulling on a line from 
the boat. I followed the range of the line, and saw a man's head come out of 
the water at the bow of the boat. I saw that he was about gone, and resolved 
to save him, if possible. The vessel was coming in all the time and I made a 
rush for her. Just as I reached the stern, with my hands fast to it, the sea 
piled over me. I hauled myself into the boat and worked my way to the 
bow. The man had lost consciousness and his head had svmk. I found his 
arm caught in the painter. I pulled his head out of the water but could not 
get him into the boat. He was fouled by lines under the boat, and every 
sea was covering me all up. The vessel's stern struck the shore, and as she 
lav at an angle, the sea came around the bow and carried me, boat and all, 
fifteen fathoms out to windward of the vessel. As I went out, I heard the 
men on the vessel say, " For God's sake save yourself ! He is dead," meaning 
the man whom I was trying to rescue. I still held the man out of water as 
the vessel went side on, and the boat passed in again by the stern. I heard 
the men call to me to save myself, and I thought it time, as I began to chill 
in the icy cold water. As the boat went in on a roller I let go the man and 
put for the shore. I had just strength enough to reach it. I got my breath, 
and, seeing two men, not belonging to my crew, coming over the beach, I 
called to them for help, but they kept clear of the sea. I rushed for the boat 
again, and this time caught the stern, and held on until the next sea, when I 
ran the boat up on the beach. The waves left her free. I cleared the man 
froin his entanglement among the ropes, and, four of my men arriving, we 
carried him over the ice wall to the dry beach, where we tried to resuscitate 
him. He breathed after a few moments, and our hopes were strong that he 
would recover, but his head and face were fearfully bruised between the ves- 
sel and boat, when he fell overboard. I sent for a team while we were work- 
ing upon him to get up circulation, upon which he was placed and taken to 
the nearest house, where he died in about eight minutes. We threw the line 
to the rest of the crew, which they took up the rigging, and swung ashore 
dry. If the captain had been seaman enough to have stayed by the vessel he 



THE LI FES A VING SER VICE. 



397 



could have saved all in ten minutes after she struck the beach, but he was 
not a practical sailor, and was running his vessel under a sailing master, who 
told him not to try to get in the boat, and endeavored to stop him, but while 
his attention was called to something else, the captain attempted to haul the 
boat alongside. The bight of a line caught him on the back, the line being 
fast to the boat which was full of water, and pulled him over, the men being 
too frightened to save him. After they were safe they told conflicting 
stories about it, and I concluded that they were so frightened on finding the 
vessel going ashore that they were not accountable for anything they did or 
allowed their captain to do. The vessel was the Myrtel Purdy, of St. John, 
N. B., captain W. E. Elsworth, whose remains were properly cared for and 
sent to his friends. 

Half an hour after the Purdy struck, the schooner Billow, of St. Andrews, 
N. B., came on about one hundred yards further north. I shot a line to her, 
and had the crew ashore in ten minutes. At the same time the schooner 
Alabama, of Calais, Me., was riding at anchor with flag of distress flying. 
Too far for a shot-line, we launched the boat and pulled out to her, offering 
to take the crew off, but, after the captain had asked for advice, they con- 
cluded not to leave, and they rode out the gale. 

We had a fearful race back to the shore. We were obliged to reach a cer- 
tain point before the tide had got too low, and I kept her before the wind 
and sea, letting her go without drag or anything to hinder her. She did go, 
and we reached the shore safely and on time, glad to get off so well. We 
found hundreds of waiting hands to help us with our boat. At eight p. m. 
we reached the station, as tired as we could be, with the first loss to record 
out of seventy-three disasters to vessels. 

I must also mention our volunteers for the day. Captain James, of the 
schooner Frederic D., and his crew, though frostbitten more or less, willingly 
came out and helped us get our apparatus and boat to the beach through the 
deep snow. Captain George Bently, likewise, whose vessel, the Sea Flozvcr, 
wrecked December 26, he was trying to save, left her to go where she might, 
was a volunteer in the surf-boat, and worked valiently all day. I afterwards 
got a letter of thanks for him from the department." 

Captain Myers likewise gives a description of the rou- 
tine life of the crew, their characters and customs, their 
privileges, about the same as at the other stations. " My 
crew," he says, "are all middle aged men, used to rough- 
ing it. Two belong to the church; the rest of us are 
outside the fold, but rather pride ourselves on our morality. 
For eight months in the year we have no entertainments. 
Our time is employed in the discharge of our daily routine 
business, a few games, and plenty of reading, thanks to 
yourself and others." 



^8 GLEANINGS FROM THE SEA. 

A GENEROUS TESTIMONIAL. 



Just as we close this volume we learn of a most gener- 
ous remembrance of the services of a Hfe-saving crew of a 
Virginia station, all of whom perished, save two, in an 
heroic attempt to rescue a German ship, on the 8th of 
January, 1887. Such recognition is not only richly merited, 
but must serve to encourage the brave fellows who risk 
their lives in the cause of humanity. The following dis- 
patch from Washington, D. C, was published in the daily 
press of July 19, 1887: 

The secretary of state has received through the German minister at 
Washington, from the emperor of Germany, a check for $10,000 and two 
handsome gold watches embellished with the likeness and monogram of the 
emperor, with the request that the money be divided equally among the 
families of the five members of the life-saving crew at Damneck Mill Sta- 
tion, Va., who lost their lives in attempting to rescue the German ship Eliza- 
beth., on Jan. 8th, and that the watches be presented to Frank Tedford and 
Joseph F. Fetheridge, the only survivors of the life-saving crew. 



CONCLUSION. 

The Life-Saving Service having proved its effectiveness, 
and those engaged in it their worthiness of pubHc regard, 
an appeal in their behalf may not be amiss in this connec- 
tion. From their isolated position, shut off from association 
with the world during the six inclement months of the 
year, their lot is a very dreary one, with few resources of 
rehef. Even the perils they are at times called to en- 
counter would tend to diversify the dreary hours of wait- 
ing and watching amid the cold and tempest. These may 
seldom occur, but the duty of readiness is imperative, and 
they must remain at their post amid solitude and gloom, 
exposed as much to the danger of mental derangement in 
their quiet, as to physical peril when the time of trial 
comes. True they are companioned and not left, Crusoe- 
like, to complete loneliness, yet it is little better; confined to 



THE LIFE-SAVING SERVICE. jgg 

solitary isles, on the worst part of the coast, with the stormy 
sea their exclusive field of observation, their thought and 
conversation constantly turning to the nature of their em- 
ployment and the contingencies involved, the mind must 
necessarily be depressed. In some lighthouses that are 
upon remote rocks in the sea, in order to prevent the evil 
likely to result from the monotony of such position, the 
keepers are required to engage in fishing, or, where prac- 
ticable, in some little agricultural employment whereby to 
preserve their mental balance. There was a story told of 
one in former time who, appointed to the Whale's Back 
Light, off Portsmouth Harbor, took his plow with him to 
meet the emergency, but, as the rock on which the Ught- 
house was placed was under water nearly all the time, 
without a grain of soil, the plow was unused. Our Life- 
Saving crews are composed of intelligent, sober men, the 
graduates of our New England schools, and therefore a 
supply of intellectual food is necessary, to keep their 
minds in healthy vigor during the time of their incarcera- 
tion between September and May. Struck with this neces- 
sity I have, in a small way, endeavored to supply the want 
in the several eastern stations. This needs the co-operation 
of those who cannot help seeing the benefit to result from 
such a course, and who, I am assured, will respond to the 
appeal made to them. No more worthy object than this 
could commend itself to the consideration of the generous, 
and the assurance is felt that it will be successful. 

I am induced thus further to introduce my personality in 
this matter from a sincere conviction of the great merit of 
the object, having become thoroughly acquainted by direct 
observation, with the necessity of the case, and of the 
worthiness of those to be benefited. Actuated by no wish 
for fame in the premises, my aim simply being to further 
a great good, I trust that my personal appeal may induce 
the friendly readers of my book to take an interest in the 
work thus commenced. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 042 606 4 





WA-^ -^ 







